The Promise of Tomorrow (The America We Knew 2)
by GhostfaceTV
Summary: [AU] [CR] [OC] [F/F] [CD] [DLV] Tori and her friends have fled and are looking for somewhere new to settle down, but someone gets a golden opportunity to make a difference in the war. Will separation hurt the group or make it stronger? New characters!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay. I started getting sick around half way through this one, and by the time I finished the last few chapters (and this piece) I'm recovering from a Tonsillectomy. I tried to write as much as I could when I could so it wouldn't take forever for this to come out, but it's a little more complicated than the last story and I wanted to make it more detailed. Since I got sick I was on meds and I'm hoping that I didn't screw up the timeline anywhere or leave any glaring holes, and if I did, I'm really sorry. I know there isn't many of you that read this series anyway but I appreciate you, the ones that do, and I want to make it as good as I can for you. So, here it is, and I hope you enjoy.**

Dom led both vehicles out of the town the way they had originally entered. It was eerie leaving the once busy neighborhood they were starting to think of as home, but there wasn't anything left there for them. They had lost one of their group but gained a few as well, so although the loss of Matthew weighed heavily on their shoulders the burden wasn't too much since they had fresh faces to interact with. The kids they had picked up on the way out were not something they planned on, but leaving orphaned children out in the open wasn't something they were prepared to have on their conscience forever. Everyone saw what leaving the boys had done to Matthew and Marie for a long time after and none of them wanted to go through the same thing. Dom looked to the back seat in his rear view mirror and saw the kids playing some kind of game with hand signals, laughing and going on like their future wasn't crumbling all around them. They would learn what happened soon enough, he just hoped they learned about it in a classroom instead of an encampment.

Nothing they learned in school had prepared them for the world they lived in. There was no class that taught kids how to scavenge for food and water. There was no instructor that taught them how to properly wield a firearm or how to take a punch, or even how to attack with a blade. Their harsh reality was adults taking from kids. Young people taking from the elderly and handicapped that couldn't defend themselves. No class they took in their school of futuristic certainty prepared them for a day where human beings would abandon their morals and act like barbarians towards each other on a grand scale, so when Dom thought back to the man in the car shooting the other man over money that didn't have any meaning anymore, and the fact that the pointless loss of life didn't really phase him much, he was worried about how the coming months-or years-would effect the group.

A quick check of the side mirror showed that Tori and the others were still behind him. He looked to his right and saw Cora with her eyes shut and head lolled to the side, breathing slowly. His whole family was gone, but he had a new family to help fill up the empty spaces and allow him to heal. The memory that his brother had gone down in a hail of gunfire was one that never really left his conscious, and it drove him to continue on, to find a spot where they could all be safe and start again. There weren't many places left where they could do that, especially on the west coast. Dom had thought about trying to go north again, maybe cross into Canada if they could find a way through and head up into the Canadian Shield. A remote forest would be a good place to hide out in for a while, given its density for weather protection and wildlife to hunt. He also thought of what might happen if they made it up there and their cars broke down or they ran out of gas, of what would happen if they were stuck there by themselves where no one would come to rescue them. The better choice was to stay in the states, although dangerous, since the chance of finding decent survivors wasn't that much lower than that of finding vicious ones.

Eventually the kids started voicing their need to take a bathroom break so Dom reached over and placed a hand on Cora's knee, shaking it gently to wake her up. She stirred for a second and looked down at Dom's hand, smiling lazily while she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes. Dom blushed for the space of a breath and brought his arm back quickly, steadying his hands at ten and two on the wheel with his eyes staring straight out the windshield.

"Any reason you woke me up?" asked Cora.

"Jessica said she has to go to the bathroom" said Dom. "And I'm guessing the rest of them do too. I could use a break myself."

"Okay then. Where do we stop?"

"There's an exit coming up in about ten miles. Sounds like a small town, could potentially be dangerous if people are still camping out there. We'll get off the highway, stop as quickly and as close to the on ramp as possible, do our business and get back out. Hopefully before anybody notices us." Another exit sign came up and Dom reached his hand out the window, pointing up to it and then pointing to the right, signaling to Diana that they were going to exit.

"Sounds like a plan" said Cora. "Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be a gas station close to the on ramp that has some snack food."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up."

In the other car Tori had been thinking about their situation and what they had been through in the past month. They had lost a friend and family member to the craziness of their new reality, and yet some people were still out in the wings. It had been four weeks since she had heard from her mom, and with them being in California it was uncertain if they were even still alive. Her sister was off somewhere, hopefully not by herself, which meant that her parents were alone without their two girls, most likely in constant worry over their well being. Tori had barely been away from home for over a week in her whole life, but things had definitely changed.

They didn't have a specific course of action. Dom was just kind of going with the flow and taking the group to where he thought resources might be easy to get, which gave Tori hope that maybe she could convince the group to go west. She knew it would be a hard sell since the unrest in that direction had been worse for longer than it was anywhere else, so it would be really dangerous to go that way, but she wanted to do everything she could to find her family. Diana would be okay with it since she had said before that she wanted Tori to be reunited with her parents, but the others would probably want to go east instead. She didn't blame them.

The radio had been dead for the most part since Wanagi had fallen apart. There were snippets of information coming from pirate radio stations in different areas, usually about the state of the area they were in and any SOS messages for lost family members. The Red Cross usually set up some kind of coordinated search effort to help people find lost loved ones by having them fill out names and areas of residence on a sheet of paper, but for all they knew The Red Cross didn't even exist anymore. The last bit of information they had heard before they left the city was about north Denver being mostly on fire. People had spotted smoke in the distance and wondered if it would travel their way, but that worry was pretty far gone in the present.

They continued that last little stretch before the exit and veered off, looking around the corner to see if they could spot any service stations close to the on ramp on the other side of the intersection. There was a fast food/gas station hybrid set back a little ways next to a hotel that looked like it might have some salvageable items left in it, so Dom pulled into the parking lot and put the car in park. Cora went to open her door but Dom laid a quick hand on her shoulder.

"Stay in here with the kids while I go scope out the inside. I don't want any surprises."

"OK" said Cora, pulling down the visor so she could see the kids in the back seat with the mirror.

Diana pulled up a minute later and got out as well. She scanned the area around them out of habit before locking eyes with Dom. He nodded towards the hotel and everyone looked that direction, searching the windows to see if they could spot movement. They understood that a hotel could easily be a safe haven for some people that were looking to hide out from bandits, or could even be a haven for the bandits themselves. Dom pointed to the hotel and the run down diner across the street as he backed up towards the building.

"Keep an eye on the grounds and the windows, we don't want to get surprised out here."

"You got it" said Diana, slipping her hands into her pockets. "If there's any pink vitamin water in there snag me one."

"Will do."

Dom and Marie entered the store together and separated to attack both sides of the building at the same time. Marie headed into the gas station part while Dom headed into the fast food part, looking for any kind of materials they could use in their travels. One thing they had learned in the month since the Conflict was practically nothing was useless and if you know what to look for, you can find things that could potentially save your life. Commodities like duct tape and super glue suddenly became worth more than diamonds and if you had access to those things, you could easily dictate terms for yourself and your group in a community.

There wasn't really much since it looked like the building had been combed over by others before them but Marie managed to find plastic bags behind the counter, so she grabbed a couple and filled them with whatever food was left on the shelves, which was mostly snack packs of crackers and gum, save for the odd candy bar. Dom mostly struck out as well until he spotted a five gallon bucket in the back room. He picked it up and set it on the counter so he wouldn't forget it on the way out and went back into the back, hoping to find a few more things. The walk in freezer was empty and the utility closet didn't hold much more than a molded mop bucket and broom so Dom's hopes of coming away with some gear dimmed substantially, but the thought of maybe having a Reese's from next door lifted his spirits.

Marie filled up three bags with the small snacks she'd found when they first entered and then began filling a few more with drinks from the coolers. There was no power in this area so they weren't cold anymore but they hadn't lost their carbonation, which only added to her excitement of cracking a Dr. Pepper. She was finishing up the bag in her hand when she heard footsteps to her left.

"Find anything good over there?"

"Not really, but I can't say I didn't score over here."

Marie froze instantly. She didn't recognize the voice and since her back to was the man she wasn't sure if he was holding a weapon, but in the world they lived in she would be surprised if he wasn't. The man took a few steps forward and she smelled alcohol in the air, tipping her off that whoever was behind her was probably squatting in the building and had helped himself to all of the booze in the cooler. The natural reflex to run was screaming in her muscles but she stood still, trying to play it cool and not tip the man off that she was afraid.

"Let me guess. You're gonna tell me I'm the prettiest girl you've seen in a long time in hopes that I'll be flattered, right?" Marie stood up straight but didn't turn around. "Then, you'll put a soft hand on my arm and tell me that you could teach me things the boys I know wouldn't even dream of, and you'll stare longingly into my eyes, hoping that I'll see the tortured soul and just under the surface tender nature. Sound about right?"

The man chuckled and she could hear his body relax. "I could say that, but I don't think my girlfriend would appreciate it."

Marie turned around and made eye contact. The man was about six feet two inches, give or take an inch, and thin, but with extraordinary definition. He had short brown hair and a five o'clock shadow. He wore a long sleeved under armour shirt that clung to his upper body like a second skin and a pair of asphalt gray khakis that tucked into black boots. Marie looked him up and down once and smiled coyly, tilting her head to the side a little. He smiled at her and as soon as he dropped eye contact she grabbed the stand next to her and ripped it to the floor between them, turning to run towards the other side of the building where Dom was. The stand crashed to the linoleum and it echoed throughout the store, loud enough to alert the girls outside.

Dom's head snapped up at the noise and he charged from the back room, hopping effortlessly over the counter toward the front door. He ran into Marie so hard that she stumbled backwards but he caught her extended arm and pulled her back before she could hit the floor. A noise from the back wall alerted Dom to the new man's presence as he stood against the coolers with the freshly tipped over stand between them. The front door opened and Tori flew through it, almost falling over as she stopped in front of Marie and Dom.

"What's going on?" Tori breathed, clearly freaked out.

"I'm guessing I scared your friend here" said the man, holding his hands up in a surrender pose. "I'm Brandon."

"Well Brandon," said Dom, "where did you come from?"

"My mom's name is Kelly and my dad's is Frank. I think my dad's side is Irish and-"

"Enough" said Dom, his voice booming through the open space. Brandon's face hardened and his eyes bored right into Dom's, charging the air between them. "Answer the question."

"I stay nearby. Why, are you guys looking for somewhere to go?"

"Possibly. We just left a nearby town when it, uh, fell apart I guess." Dom looked at the girls and they shrugged their shoulders lightly.

"You must have been involved with whatever had all those military vehicles heading north from here, huh?" asked Brandon.

"Yeah. Some guy named General Calloway."

Brandon shook his head with a grave look on his face. "Figures."

"You know of him?"

"Know of him?" Brandon chuckled and ran a thumb over his jaw line. "I've tangled with him a few times, trying to keep him and his goons out of this area. That was a few weeks ago, before he had risen up so to speak. I know he's gonna come back with his army in their vehicles and try to intimidate my group into either working for him or leaving, but he's gonna have a hell of a time as long as I'm alive."

The look on Brandon's face was the same that Dom usually carried. Strong and precise, but not void of worry. Marie looked them both over and bit her lip gently, crossing her arms over chest. She could see that the two of them were very alike and that Brandon had probably sacrificed a lot to keep his group safe same as Dom, and that helped her warm up to him a bit. She handed one of the bags over to Tori and the other to Diana, then started looking through the last one. A Hershey bar was staring her in the face so she grabbed it out and unwrapped it, broke the top corner piece off and popped it in her mouth. Brandon smiled and then held his arms out in a grand gesture.

"It's not hard to tell the difference between good people and scavengers, and you guys seem cool. We're shacked up in the hotel next door. There's twelve of us, and I'm the, uh, seventh oldest at twenty six. I can take you over so you can check things out, but I don't have any rations to spare. I'm sure you can understand."

"Yeah I get it" said Dom, turning towards the door slightly. "We'll go take a look and see what your setup is like and if it works for us, maybe we could stick around and help you guys out."

Tori's heart sank a little bit but she didn't want to burst the bubble of potential stability for the rest of the members of her group. Selfishness wasn't a very good color on her.

"OK, follow me."

The group followed Brandon through the back entrance towards the hotel they saw on the way in. Abandoned cars littered the parking lot and some of the back roads that led to it, and that made Tori think that the owners had probably been killed. She looked at every car and the thought of a human life, one of love, loss and knowledge, had been removed from this Earth over something as miniscule as colored paper. Those people could have been parents. Brothers, sisters, aunts or uncles. The weight of her own losses was heavy enough but with her new found added pressure of others she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle it all. Day by day it seemed to take more to power through it but she did so because people needed her, and she needed them.

The hotel looked like it was pretty much abandoned but they knew on Brandon's authority that it wasn't. She wondered how the people that lived here would take on newcomers, and all of a sudden she was nervous. Would they push them away, loathe them for coming to share in the already limited supplies, or would they embrace them? There was no way to guess what was going to happen so she just had to bite the bullet like the rest of her group and go in with the best attitude and positive energy she could muster, and hopefully that would convince Brandon's group that the two groups could coexist peacefully.

As they entered the hotel grounds Tori made for the front door but she heard a sound behind her, so she slowed and turned her head back. Brandon nodded his head slightly to the right and veered a little off course, leading them around to the right side of the building. There was a second entrance about half way down the wall but he didn't stop there, instead he continued all the way to the back of the building and entered through a service entrance near the dumpster. A man was standing by the door with a gun, apparently on duty, and when he saw Brandon they nodded mutually yet silently. Brandon led them down a series of hallways until they headed through a door that led to a staircase. They went up floor after floor until they headed through a door marked with a 5, which had another guard standing next to it on the other side. Tori went to pass through but Brandon put a hand out to stop her.

"You guys wait here a sec, I'm gonna go break the news to the Elders before they just happen to walk out and see a big new group of people. I don't think that would be the best way to introduce you." He smiled and headed through the door, which clicked loudly in Tori's face.

"Well hopefully everything goes OK, this is a pretty nice hotel" said Marie. "I could see us staying here for a while. Plus then we wouldn't have to ride in the car anymore."

"I think it's nice too" said Dom, "but don't get your hopes up. Getting in with new groups isn't really an easy task, and even if they do accept us in the beginning we might not mesh well over time. Lots of things are possible so we just need to stay focused on right now."

"Yes sir Captain Major guy sir." Marie saluted Dom and he shook his head with that condescending parental look. "Come on, let me live a little."

"I'm just trying to save you from being disappointed."

In that moment Marie could see the enormous pressure of everything that Dom carried for them, and the feeling broke her heart. He should be going to college and chasing girls, but instead he was tasked with ensuring the survival of a whole group people, even in the wake of his brother's death. She felt a big wave of appreciation wash over her and in that moment she stepped forward and brought Dom into a hug and leaned her head on his chest. He smiled and wrapped her up tight, trying to squeeze his understanding into her ribs. Tori and Diana both smiled and entangled their fingers, hoping to live in the moment for as long as they could.

They were cut short of the good vibes when Brandon reappeared, looking stern but not upset. His eyes moved from the floor to Tori and the familiar smile from the gas station popped back onto his face.

"Well it seems like most of them are busy in a meeting about strategy or something so they won't be out for a while, but I did tell them everything, how there's quite a few of you with the little kids and all, and they seemed to be OK with it. I don't know if that's because they really are OK with it or because they were wrapped up in their meeting and didn't really hear what I said to them, but for now anyway, you guys are cool to hang out around here. I can't really give you the grand tour at the moment since they gave me a job to do, but if you want you can check it out yourselves. The rooms are still locked but we've managed to pick them manually for rooms for people to stay in, so for now you can hang out in the lobby and play cards or something. The guards just want to make sure people don't go into the basement or onto the roof."

"Why's that?" asked Cora.

"Well the roof I guess is because there can obviously be people in the area and they don't want the potential for someone being spotted on the roof from far away, giving up our position. The basement I'd guess is because there's no lights or anything and there's a lot of stairs, you could fall and break a leg or ankle or something."

"Alright then I guess we'll hit up the lobby and relax for a while" said Diana as she squeezed Tori's hand.

"I should be back pretty soon, just going into a neighboring area for a minute. I'll see you guys later."

Brandon headed down the stairs and was out of sight. Dom lead the group down into the lobby where the people who lived there had set up a small games area. There were a few board games and some decks of cards, and even a Chess set. A small rectangular board sat on a side table and Tori knew what it was immediately, so she ran over and grabbed it before anyone else did.

"Diana, have you ever played Mancala?"

Diana scanned the board and the little marble pieces. "Can't say I have."

"It's easy" said Tori, filling up the basins with marbles. "You move to the right as many spaces as you have marbles in the basin you choose. You drop one in each basin including your keep, but not in my keep, and if your last marble drops in your basin you get to go again. If your last marble ends in an empty space on your side, you capture whatever marbles are in the basin on my side. When one side runs out of marbles whatever the other side has left goes into their basin and each side counts their marbles, and whoever has the most wins."

"Sounds like fun" said Diana, looking at the spaces and counting to try and develop a strategy. "Did you used to play this game a lot?"

"Yeah, it was a pretty big staple in my household. The board was always out on the living room table and we kept a scoreboard by the door. Last I knew I think my mom was winning by a couple games but I was right behind her. Then my dad, then Trina. I don't think she ever really got the hang of it but she tried. Sometimes."

"I bet you guys had a lot of fun." Diana watched as Tori moved her first pieces and sat back looking at the board for a moment. She passed through a bunch of memories in her head as she stared blankly at the pieces in front of her, wishing that she could flip one of them and make a wish to bring her parents back. It had only been a year or so since her dad died and quite a bit longer for her mom, but it felt like she had just seem them maybe a week ago. The passing of Matthew in such a horrible situation had really brought out her grief for her parents but she couldn't focus on it in that danger, and the downtime she found herself in then was helping to bring out the feelings of mourning. She was hoping to not throw Tori off her game so she went ahead and made her first move, copying what Tori did and then making her second move a little different. Tori looked her over questioningly before she continued.

"Are you OK? You seem a little down, and I'm getting some heavy vibes from you." She put her hand over her heart and bit her lower lip.

Diana thought about saying something but she determined that it wasn't the best time since they were practically in limbo waiting for the OK to see if they could stay there or not. "No, yeah, I'm fine. I just kind of spaced there for a second."

"If you just spaced I wouldn't be feeling like someone was sitting on my chest right now. What's wrong?" Tori got up and moved to the other side of the table.

"Just finally feeling the grief of my dad and Matthew and all of this going on. I've been pretty good at putting it away for a long time but I don't know what it is right now. I feel like I just need to run, or scream or something to help release this tension." Diana fidgeted on the couch until Tori grabbed her hands and cupped them with her own.

"I know all of this is hard to deal with, especially since my whole family is in another state and I have no idea if they're okay or not. I know what's it's like to wonder and say what if, but at the same time you have to look at how far we've come in such a short period of time. Look at how many people died when this thing started, but us? We survived. We got ourselves together and we made it." Tori let go of Diana's hands and stood up. "We might not have much, but we have each other. Like Jonny and his brothers, Jessica and her siblings. I know you still need to work through the bad stuff, but keep the good stuff in mind, and I'm sure it'll help you out."

"You know, you're really attractive when you give advice."

Tori blushed and averted her eyes to the floor. "Yeah well you're easy to talk to."

Dom walked over and checked out their game which snapped the two girls out of their little moment. Diana looked down at the board and realized that Tori's basin was half full and she only had a couple. Their talk had her coasting through her moves without really paying attention, something that she had a nagging suspicion Tori was counting on based on the look she was giving her.

"Were you cooing me on purpose so you could win this game?"

Tori contorted her face in mock shock. "Who? Me? I would never!"

"Looks like you two are having fun" said Dom.

"Well if you think about it, we're not really sitting around waiting to do the normal duties anymore" said Diana. "Usually a person's downtime is really just the space between one job or another, but now, downtime is the only time. I guess we're just trying to adjust how we live and carry on conversation."

Dom chewed on those words for a minute and couldn't really think of anything to say at the time, so he nodded his head and patted Diana on the shoulder before walking to a comfy looking chair in the corner. He sat down and looked out the window, rolling the observation around in his brain. It was true that their day to day had become pretty aimless, except for the scavenging for food and other survival items. They weren't waiting to go to work or school anymore, so they had to find new ways to fill their time when they had cleaned out an area of all salvageable supplies. Most of the time when people see each other in public it's a quick 'hi, how are you?' or 'hope you and the family are doing well' in between isles in the grocery store, but these days, the stores were empty and there was nothing pressing keeping people from talking to each other. Video killed the radio star, and the internet killed the art of conversation.

About an hour later Brandon reentered the building and headed upstairs after a quick wave through the lobby. He was up there for a matter of minutes before he was bounding down again, eyes set on Dom.

"Hey bud, the group is ready to see everyone but they want to do separate interviews to see how each person is individually."

"So do we just wait here and have them call us up one at a time?" asked Dom.

"Actually I'm gonna put you guys in separate rooms down here and they'll disperse into each room so they can have one-on-one time with all of you before we all reconvene in this area."

Dom searched Brandon's face for a moment and looked at the rest of the group. "I don't really like the idea of us being separated like that."

Brandon smiled and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Nothing to be worried about Dom, they just want to vet you guys in their own way."

"I would rather us stay together and have them talk to us as a group. I just don't feel like there's a real need for us to be rated singularly if we're all going to be living as a community."

Brandon's smile cracked a little and it seemed like he was getting agitated. Tori's stomach rolled over on itself and she laid her hands over top of it, gripping slightly like she was going to vomit. Diana didn't miss the gesture and she tapped Dom on the hip with the back of her hand.

"I don't like this Dom."

He turned and saw Tori's face and how she held her stomach, thinking that she had been sensitive to a lot of bad vibes before, he didn't want to go against her gut this time when there were a lot of people with guns around them. "I think we're-"

"You're not going anywhere" Brandon interrupted as he pulled his pistol out of the holster and pointed it at Dom. "I tried to do this the nice way but you wouldn't go along with it, so now it's the hard way." He whistled and a few more guards with rifles came into the room and started poking the group with the gun barrels, herding them different directions until they were all outside of arm's reach of each other.

"If you hurt these people I promise you'll regret it" said Dom, shaking slightly with rage. "My family means more to me than any possession you own does to you, I guarantee that."

Brandon chuckled softly and stepped forward. "Possessions don't do anything except hold you back. They're tokens of a past life that we don't live in anymore, dead weight that serves no purpose except to keep you up at night. No, I don't have any possessions except for a couple sets of clothes, my gun and a keen ability to rise through the ranks."

Dom's eyes widened at the realization that Brandon wasn't talking about old people when he said Elders, he meant Officers above his rank. "So how long have you been working for Calloway?

"General Calloway?" Marie asked, her voice rising a bit with each word. "How do you know he works for Calloway?"

"Since a couple days after the Conflict. I saw what he had going for him and I knew that was the train to get on, so I did. He tells me I'm great at 'taking initiative.'"

"You'll be taking my foot up your ass if you don't let us out of here" said Marie, struggling to get away from her captor.

"Now that's no way to talk to your superior" said Brandon in the most condescending tone he could muster. "You know what we do when something like this happens? When people get rowdy and want to stir up trouble?"

"You punish them, right? To show how big and strong and in charge you are?"

"Basically, but it's not necessarily aimed at the person who started it." With the end of his sentence he pistol whipped Dom so hard blood splattered against the wall they were standing near. Dom's body crumpled to the ground without obstruction and a loud thud echoed through the room. Marie's face went from stern to terrified in less time than it took for him to fall and Brandon's face mimed the satisfaction he gleaned from doling out punishment. "Now, you see how we do things around here. If you don't want any of your friends to get knocked out the way this poor guy did, you'll keep your mouth shut and do as I say. Otherwise, it could get messy around here."

Tori looked at Diana and tried to squeak out a reassuring smile, hoping that maybe if they kept a positive attitude, internally at least, they might be able to make it out of the next part of their situation alive. Marie seemed suddenly defeated and overwhelmed while Cora stood stone-faced and rigid. The younger kids started crying and as soon as the sound of wailing started to echo towards the stairs Brandon grabbed all four of the younger ones and led them to the first room in the hallway to the right. Cora tried to jump forward and stop him from doing so but the guard behind her caught her arm and pulled her backwards. A moment later a door slammed shut and the sound of crying was cut off completely. Brandon nodded to the guard closest to him and he moved to stand in front of the door with his weapon at the ready.

They stood in silence for the better part of twenty minutes when Dom started to stir a bit. He struggled to get to his knees and when he opened his eyes he slammed them shut immediately, his face full of pain. Tori wanted to walk over and help him up so badly but she knew what would happen if she moved, so she stayed still and watched him carefully. He made his way to his feet with the help of the chair in front of him and then leaned on it, reaching his arm back to feel the wound on his head that was still wet with fresh blood. He winced at the touch and saw the blood on his hand, his eyes quickly widening again as he scanned the room to make sure everyone was alright.

"Don't worry, no one else is hurt" said Brandon. "You get clocked because your loud-mouthed friend over there thought she was cute."

Marie looked scared and apologetic as Dom tried to reign himself back in. He looked over at Brandon, who was sitting idly in a chair picking at his fingernails when the question came to mind. "I don't understand. If you have us here surrounded by guns what are we still doing in this room? What do you even want from us?"

"For now, to stay here and be quiet. It's not up to me what happens to you in the future."

"So what, are you a bounty hunter or something?" asked Diana.

"More like a recruiter" said Brandon, kicking back in the chair to get a little more comfortable. "We have a few until our friend arrives, so just sit tight and don't be a hero."

About fifteen minutes passed by and with a rumbling in the distance Dom saw a convoy of three vehicles pull into the hotel parking lot. Brandon whistled again and made a circle motion with his finger that had the guards rounding all of them up in a straight line, which told them group that General Calloway must be approaching. They each stood straight with a little bit of fear of the unknown strengthening their spines.

Calloway entered the lobby area moments later with guards on either side of him, carrying what looked like brand new weapons. Of course, his bodyguards would have top notch equipment to make sure he was safe at all times. He talked animatedly with the man on his right as they walked up to the group and only at the last second did he actually look up to see what was in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise when he took in all of the people in front of him, especially when he landed on Dom. He looked them over one by one, assessing strength and agility from the outside.

"I remember seeing you folks in the humble town of Wanagi some days ago when that unfortunate little incident occurred. It soothes me to see that you made it out unscathed."

"We didn't exactly make it out unscathed" said Dom, balling his hands into fists. "My brother was killed in that fiasco."

Calloway looked down towards the ground and sighed out a deep breath. "I'm sorry to hear that son, I truly am. These casualties we've faced recently will blot our memories forever, that's true, but sometimes we encounter losses in the face of change for the better." He put his hands on his hips and studied the group once more, this time looking for they weren't sure what. He obviously seemed to be satisfied with what he saw since he continued on. "Me and my men have been working since day one of this thing to try to keep the American spirit alive, to bring us back together again under one common goal."

"And what is that goal?" asked Marie.

"To build a better Nation than we had before. Based on the same principals and laws of course, but with a few changes here and there to allow things to run more smoothly."

Dom didn't even want to guess at what Calloway would change, he just knew that he didn't like the sound of it at all. A series of beeps sounded from one of the guards' walkie talkies, triggering him to walk back towards the door to speak with someone. He was gone for maybe ten seconds before he walked back and muttered something to the General that caught his attention. He surveyed the group one last time and then turned on his heel to leave, but stopped at the last second. "Tell them I'll deal with it later, I have something else to do right now." With that the guard walked away once more but went all the way outside this time, leaving the group with Brandon, Calloway and one of his guards, and the original guards that were there when they first entered.

Tori looked back and forth between everyone in their group, trying to figure out the best plan of action. There was at least seven guns in the room and none of them belonged to the group, so their odds of getting out uninjured were slim to none, and they couldn't take another casualty. She eyed Dom, who seemed to be doing the same thing she was doing by scoping out doors and windows that could be potential exits. Their movements were not unnoticed by the guards, who seemed to stand a little taller. Calloway nodded his head to the side and Brandon jumped up, joining him in front of the group. They looked them over together, and finally Calloway broke the unnerving silence.

"So what do you think, Colin? Infantry for this one, Medical for the women?"

"Colin?" asked Tori. "You really gave us a fake name?"

Brandon smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Tactical move. There was more of you than me obviously, and if you happened to get away and tell someone about me I'd be a step ahead in anonymity."

"Good work, soldier" said Calloway, patting Colin on the back of the shoulder.

"Thank you sir."

"Lapdog" spat Marie, crossing her arms over her chest.

Colin crossed the room in just a few steps to come face to face with Marie. He stared her down and lifted his gun in the air, presumably to strike her the same way he had stricken Dom but before he could land the blow Calloway stopped him.

"That's enough, son. She's trying to get you to react." He pointed to Marie and nodded his head in appreciation. "Watch out for her, she's sly. Anyway, we'll start getting you all enrolled in your new jobs shortly here. You'll receive new duties to perform and the better job you do, the more you are rewarded. You'll bunk with like members of-"

"Wait a minute" Dom interjected, cutting the General off. "We're not joining your army."

"You say that now, but I think you'll find me pretty fair and just in the future. Give it a shot, see how it works out for you. We're building a new family here, a new country. Something we can all be proud of."

"Right, and if we don't like how it turns out in a week or two you'll just let us leave? Hardly." Dom shifted his weight to his left foot and waited for Calloway's response, which he knew full well wouldn't be what he wanted to hear.

"You'll either comply, or you won't. I've told you what happens when you comply, and I'd hate to have to call you an enemy." With a skillful move Calloway showed the holstered pistol on his belt, but he did it in a non-showboat way which made it feel all the more sinister. "I'm giving you an opportunity here. There's even child care for the little ones in the next room."

"You can't make us fight for you" said Marie. Who's to say that we don't turn on your army the second we get a gun and spray down everyone we can?" Tori and Diana both looked at Marie at the same time, holding their breath that her brash nature didn't get her in trouble.

"I'll kill you if you do."

"Then why not do it now?" Dom took a step forward and looked the General square in the eye. "If that's where this is leading go ahead and put me down now."

In one smooth motion Calloway pulled out his pistol and shot a bullet clean through Cora's left hand, garnering a shriek of pain that bounced off the walls with the boom of the shot itself. Marie practically jumped out of her skin and Diana covered her ears, while Tori and Dom just stood still out of shock. Calloway re-holstered his weapon and cleared his throat while Cora crumpled to the floor, holding her hand to her chest.

"There's no room in my ranks for bullshit. If you don't want in, fine, there are plenty of people that do. But heed this; you will be an enemy to the Calloway Faction as long as you are alive. Are you prepared to take that risk?"


	2. Chapter 2

Dom searched everyone's faces and tried to feel out where they all stood on the subject. It was obvious Calloway was at least a little crazy, and having him as an enemy with all of his resources was a risky situation indeed, but being on his side could prove to be difficult. What if he wanted them to kill innocent people to steal supplies? Dom knew he couldn't do that and he was just as sure for the rest of them. When it came to disobeying direct orders that was a surefire way to get themselves killed, so he didn't really see a clean way out of the situation. The thought crossed his mind about the speech he gave when they entered the library, about how they needed to fight back against the wrong kind of uprising. They had a brilliant opportunity if they could capitalize on it without getting caught, but it was a big risk. Calloway stood still with his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for Dom to come to a decision.

"It's not that we aren't grateful for the offer to be a part of a rising force, one that can help protect and provide for us, but do you blame us for being a bit skeptical?"

"Not at all" said Calloway. "Pretty much every person that's joined me has had questions on whether or not I'll order them to kill women and children, steal from the elderly or disabled. You're completely in the right asking me those questions, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. Some people are okay with the answers, some aren't."

"Can I talk to my group in private for a minute? I don't want to make a blanket decision for everyone without talking this over."

"As you wish."

Dom lead everyone out the front door to the middle of the parking lot, about thirty yards from the front door. Cora was still bleeding pretty heavily so while everyone formed a circle he tore off a part of his shirt and wrapped it around her hand to stem the blood flow. Tori rocked back and forth on her heels while Marie chewed her fingernails, and Diana stood with her arms crossed.

"Listen guys" said Dom, wiping excess blood on his pants, "we're in a pretty bad situation here. I was trying to feel this guy out to see what he's about, and obviously he's the real deal. I'm sorry about that Cora, I should have thought better about egging him on." Cora smiled weakly and waved him off, so he continued. "We can duck out now and be on the run from these guys on top of everything else, or we can try to pretend for a little bit so we can get an in, learn some things about these guys. We said we wanted to help get things back to normal, or whatever we can do at least, and that means making sure people like that don't get a run on things. I can't make your decision for you, and I would hate for us to split up, but I feel like I need to do something important. For Matthew."

"I don't want to get involved" said Cora, holding her hand close to her body. "It's too dangerous. You see what that guy is like. What's he gonna do if he finds out you're betraying him? He shot me just for some smart talk. If you cross him he'll make you disappear."

Dom shook his head slowly but his confidence didn't waver. "I know that, but I'm willing to take the risk."

Diana pulled Tori close to her and turned their bodies so they could talk privately. "I don't know about this, Tor. I'm all for the guerrilla fight and whatever, but this is serious. We're talking about getting into bed with these people for real. Once we start, there's no backing out."

"I know, but I don't want Dom to go in there alone. I don't want to split up with you either, though. It's a tough call." She huffed out a breath and reached out for Diana's hand, a move that Dom caught out of the corner of his eye. He watched everyone struggle internally with their own decisions and as he watched them work, the only outcome he would actually be okay with came to him.

"Listen. Instead of having to make this decision, I'll make it myself. I know I said I didn't want to make it for you but I'm going to. I'll go in by myself, tell them that you girls didn't want to get involved in a big fight and you were going to split off on your own since you heard of another group of survivors down south when we were in Wanagi. I'll say that my brother's death is guiding me into the fighting direction so I can make sure nothing like that happens to anyone else's brother, or sister or best friend. I'll sell the deal as hard as I can, give you guys some time to get away from here as fast as possible. You can set up camp in a nearby town, stay out of sight and work out ways to hit them from the outside while I work from the inside. We'll work out a rendezvous point where we can leave messages for each other so no one gets hurt in a planned attack."

"No way" said Marie. She crossed her arms and shook her head firmly. "There's no way you're going in there alone."

"I appreciate that but if you think about it, if I'm the only one there will be less of a chance we'll slip up. If someone else is with me someone might catch us exchanging glances or something small that could give us away. I won't be in any more danger than you guys really, and we won't be too far away. We can make this work."

Tori hated the idea more and more every second, but she hated the idea of leaving Diana's side just the same. She knew Dom could take care of himself and that he was a good individual problem solver, so he would be able to pull it off better than any of the rest of them. Reluctantly she stepped forward with her hand in Diana's, ready to give her acceptance.

"I'll keep these guys safe Dom, you go do what you need to do."

"Get Sarah out of there for me" said Cora, "I don't want to be separated from her."

Dom nodded his head and took each one of them into a hug and squeezed tight, conveying his feelings in one strong gesture. Cora held onto his waist a little when he backed up and a smile spread across his face. When he got to Marie she wouldn't look him in the eyes or uncross her arms, but he knew why. She wanted to fight back just as much as he did for Matthew's sake.

"Matthew would never forgive me if something happened to you Marie" said Dom. "I need you to help on the outside since the only way this is gonna work is if we come at it from both ways."

"Yeah well that doesn't mean I have to like it." She sniffled a little and cleared her throat. "Be careful, I don't know if I can handle losing someone else right now."

Dom hugged her tight and kissed her on the top of her head, then marched back to the building. The girls watched him go through the front door and saw it shut behind him, a noise that sounded like it was right next to them even from all the way across the parking lot. Tori had an uneasy feeling but she didn't want to make anyone else nervous, so she tried her best to keep it to herself. They waited a few minutes until Sarah bolted out the door, running full blast back to her big sister's side. No one else came out so Tori figured Dom had haggled for the care of Jessica and her siblings, a gesture that wasn't missed by the group. It made things a lot easier on them not having to worry about keeping young kids safe, and they were all grateful for that.

Inside the building Calloway watched Dom curiously as he talked with Colin about the day to day in the Faction. The two men traded war stories from the road since the beginning of the Conflict, Colin's more brutal than Dom's, but both dangerous in every way. The guards watched silently as they stood their posts, waiting for orders or until someone came to relieve them of their duty. When Colin broke away to head back to the outpost base in the area Calloway caught up with Dom and pulled him off to the side. The atmosphere felt thick in the open room, the thought of betrayal and a painful death were going to be near impossible to will away without some time to get used to everything.

"I'm glad you decided to stay, Dom" said Calloway. "I think we could really use you here."

"Glad to be here, sir." Dom stood up straight with his hands behind his back. "What do you need done?"

Tori led the girls through the parking lot to the store where their cars were still parked. She realized that Dom had left without his bag and he still had the keys to the truck, so she grabbed his bag and angled herself towards the hotel. "Dom's got the keys and he left his stuff so I'm gonna go swap with him, I'll be right back." Diana nodded her head and helped Cora get Sarah settled, then Tori made the trek back across the parking lot. She looked all around them, seeing the small buildings in the distance that were once hardware stores or restaurants. She couldn't help but wonder which ones had people in them like this hotel did, or what, if anything, was left of the original establishments. It was hard to think that some people had spent their lives building their careers, starting their own businesses and working hard to have something respectable, something to help sustain a family, and in the wake of something like the Conflict it could all be gone in the blink of an eye. It didn't seem fair, but then again nothing in their lives did anymore. A cool breeze rippled through the air, which while being a nice break in the monotony of stale, warm air, was a possible sign of an approaching storm. Tori picked up the pace and when she neared the building she held Dom's backpack up to the guard so he could see it and hopefully deduce that she wasn't a threat.

"This bag belongs to my friend that's staying here, and he has the keys to truck in his pocket. Can you switch them out for me?"

"I can't leave my post but if you head into the lobby someone there can help you out" said the guard.

"Thank you."

She entered the building once more and took the long hallway on the right that wrapped around to the side entrance of the lobby. Dom stood straight with his hands behind his back, looking down at a table with a map on it. Calloway stood across from him with his two guards on his sides and Colin stood to the right of Dom. When Tori's presence was noticed Calloway held up a hand to stop the conversation and directed his attention to her.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Yeah. Dom, you left your bag." She took a few steps forward with the bag outstretched and one of Calloway's guards drew his pistol, staring hard with it aimed right at her chest. "Easy, there's no bomb or anything. I just figured he'd want his stuff."

Dom took the bag and set it on the couch facing the fireplace and smiled warmly. "Thanks Tor."

"No problem. You also have the keys to the truck."

"That's right" said Dom as he fished them out of his pocket. "Sorry, I should have thought about that."

"No biggie" said Tori. "I know you're thinking about Matthew and you want to get started turning this whole thing around. You'll get your head back real quick when you get comfortable." She tried to put out some last minute good vibrations for Dom before backtracking to the door. "When you finish what you started come find us, we'd love to see you again."

Dom felt a pressure in his chest that he didn't expect. He knew it was partially a show for Calloway and his goons but he also knew Tori well enough to see and feel the emotion behind her words. Not only was she solidifying his story she was conveying to him that they all loved him and wished for his safety. He wanted to reach out to her and assure her everything would be okay but he had to play into his part as well, so he did by nodding his head with a sly smile. "Thanks again Tori, you guys be safe out there."

"Sure thing." With that Tori cleared out of the hotel and crossed back to the girls, ready to get on the road and make a plan. When she got back to the vehicles the car was loaded up with Sarah in the back and Cora in the passenger seat, with Marie behind the wheel. The truck was repacked and ready with Diana waiting in the driver's seat. Marie nodded in Diana's direction which tipped Tori off that they must have come up with a temporary plan while she was gone, which was good enough for her. Anything to get them away from Calloway. She slipped into the truck and Diana gripped her hand momentarily, squeezing with some reassurance that they would figure something out.

Marie took off and Diana followed closely behind as they got back onto the highway. The area around the hotel wasn't very large so it was fairly clean and devoid of debris, but the bigger cities were another story. Tori thought back to the bridge when they had first left Chicago and how all of the bodies just lay around in cars and on the road, torn to shreds by machine gun fire. A lot of the larger areas still had thousands of bodies lying in the road or on the floor inside shops, since everyone was too preoccupied with their own survival to worry about the proper cleanup and sendoffs of the dead. She wondered how that imagery affected the younger kids that were inevitably still around those areas, and how these memories would affect her generation-and the next generation's-ability to lead in the future.

It had been quite a bit of time since any of them had eaten anything solid and they were all starting to seem a little worse for wear. There was a plastic bag that sat on the seat between them so Tori took it into her lap and inspected it. Inside was a handful of different packs of gum and a couple chocolate bars, with three bottles; one regular water, one lemon flavored water and dragonfruit SoBe. She fished out one of the chocolate bars and unwrapped it, anxious to get some sugar into her body. They had all been feeling a bit sluggish with the lack of nutrition, and with her added stress from the wacky emotions thing she felt like it was hitting her extra hard. In that moment she realized she never asked Diana what that was all about, and if anyone would know, it should be her.

"So, about this, uh, empathy thing" Tori started, breaking off two pieces of the bar at the same time. She handed one to Diana and popped the other one into her mouth to let it melt. "Do you know anything about it? You seemed to sort of know what was happening in the beginning so I was hoping you had some more information or something."

Diana blinked slowly and kept her eyes on the road. "I've read a bit about it in my family's Book of Shadows. It's a book that keeps the history of a magical family through the ages. Names, dates, spells, stuff like that. I read a section on Empaths since my great grandmother was the same way, and I was so excited to finally find out the real reason why she seemed to know so much about people all the time." She smiled at an old memory and kept a steady foot on the gas. "Basically you have an innate ability to sense how other people are feeling, but it's more literal than metaphorical, as I'm sure you've noticed. Instead of just getting an inkling or using perception to get a feeling of what others are experiencing, it actually mimics the emotions inside of you as well. So if you're within the vicinity of someone who feels strongly in a certain way, like happy, sad, angry, you'll also feel those things."

"I guess that's cool" said Tori, watching the sky dim with the rolling clouds. "It would be even better if I could control it, instead of being at the mercy of the people around me. I suppose I might be able to if I work at it, right?"

Diana suddenly looked worried as she adjusted her grip on the steering wheel. "You're right, and we need to work on that sooner rather than later. I read some stories that didn't end up the greatest way because of this thing, and I-" She stopped for a minute as if to choose her words carefully. "I couldn't handle anything happening to you."

"Well we'll work on it together" said Tori as she handed over another piece of the chocolate. "It's not like I have to be at the Record Store in the morning so I think we'll be able to find some time to work this out." She felt a warmth spread through her legs as the look of stress on Diana's face turned to one of relaxation. Her stress level was tied to all of those around her so the more she tried to keep everyone cool and collected, the better off they would all be. She still wasn't sure where they were going so the best course of action was to keep the conversation going. "Well since we have time, why don't you tell me about your old life? It's not every day a person finds out magic is real, but so much has happened we haven't even had a chance to talk about it."

"Back when I was a kid, there was an accident that claimed my mother's life." Diana leaned forward and checked out the sky as single raindrops started to splash on the windshield. "That same accident claimed the lives of eleven other people; six of which were members of a circle." She checked her mirror and made eye contact with Marie, who had been doing the same in checking out the clouds. She nodded her head up and down as a signal to keep going. "I lost my mom. Adam also lost his mom, as did Melissa. Faye lost her father but Jake and Nick lost both of their parents. Cassie lost her mom recently, which is what brought her to Chance Harbor and got the whole ball rolling."

"What was the accident?" asked Tori.

"There was a fire at a boatyard. Everyone had gathered there for a fake truce kind of thing. Both sides had their own plan, but so did John Blackwell, and I guess he won that battle. It gets kind of complicated but the basic version was John wanted to create a new circle of witches with dark magic at the center, and he was trying to have children with all the women in my parents' circle because his ancient Balkoin bloodline was directly related to dark magic and really powerful. He ended up getting two kids out of their circle, me and my half sister Cassie, but he had a few other kids outside of their circle as well. At the same time there were witch hunters that had been trying to take down the circle from the outside, and they were powerless fighting both forces at the same time. Things kind of hit a fever pitch and my dad-well, stepdad-used a spell to render the main witch hunter mortal again so he could be killed. When he did that, he took a bunch of demons inside his body and the only way to safely stop them was to do a Petrification spell that would put him in a coma-like state for the rest of his life. My grandmother did the spell and moved him to a home somewhere where he's being looked after, and I haven't seen either of them since."

Tori watched Diana as she told the story, her eyes never wavering from the outstretched road. There was a hint of sadness and regret in tone but the thing Tori sensed the most was something like hopelessness, like she felt that since she couldn't do anything to change the outcome of what happened she would be powerless to help anyone else in the future. Tori didn't like the feeling but she knew that everyone had their own take on things and their own way of coping and healing, and this was obviously something that Diana needed to go through to get where she needed to be.

"One of my circle members died towards the beginning, Nick. When he died his brother Jake came back to town and with Cassie's arrival, we bound our circle. That meant we couldn't do individual magic anymore but the magic we did together was a lot stronger than anything we could do by ourselves. The binding of our circle was really what set everything off, since once we were stronger we were on the witch hunter's radar, and John Blackwell's."

"So what happened at the end that brought you to Chicago?"

"Well things were kind of shaky between a lot of us towards the end. I had broken up with Adam since he had this 'date with destiny' thing with Cassie. Some kind of epic love written in the stars, his dad used to say. That made things sort of awkward and then when we found out it was my stepdad that killed Cassie's mom all those years after the boatyard fire, we didn't really talk much. She was kind of falling into her dark magic and I didn't want anything to do with it, so we kind of walked a different path for a while and that was that. Jake left town again, Melissa and her dad were doing okay, Faye and her mom were trying to repair their relationship, Cassie left town as well in search of who knows what and Adam had gone the way Cassie did for a while, kind of wrapped up in the corrosive power of dark magic."

"That's a lot to take in" said Tori, rubbing her eyes with her fingers. "Witches, Hunters, Demons, dark magic, murder."

"Yeah it is" said Diana, laughing softly. "I was really scared when you came into the bathroom that day, since I knew this conversation would have to come at some time and I had no idea then how I would even bring it up, or how I would go about explaining the craziness."

"Well you did a pretty good job, I think have most of it down. But I was wondering, you said John Blackwell had more children outside of your circle? How did you know?"

"There was four of them from other circles from when he had first started trying to build his circle, but then he changed his tactic and thought that having second generation witches from a powerful circle with actual blood relations would make them even more powerful, which is when Cassie and I came along. Those four other kids had already banded together and started getting the hang of dark magic and they wanted the last two members of the circle to get on board, so we could bind that circle in the name of darkness or something and rule the world as evil doers." Diana smiled since it sounded comical when it came out that way, but it was the truth. "They came into town and that's when Cassie and I sensed them and knew it was time to split. We left town at the same time and slipped by them before they could corner us and I've never seen them since either. Any of them."

"Sounds like you had a lot more excitement than I did before all of this" said Tori. "Obviously it wasn't all good or anything but not a lot of people can say they have as exciting a life as that."

"Yeah well I would give it up in a heartbeat if I could go back and save everyone's parents from dying." Diana spotted another exit sign and gave the round up signal out the window for Marie to see. It was starting to rain harder and the sun was going down so she figured it would be a good idea to get off the road for the night. They'd gotten a good ways from the hotel so they would be safe for a little while at least, enough time to get some rest and rejuvenate.

The exit led into the downtown area of a decent sized city in Northeastern Colorado, about an hour or two north of Denver. This area was almost completely clustered with cars, some were even charred to the point that you couldn't tell what color they were. Thankfully it seemed like someone had been through there already and most cars had been nudged enough so they could weave through to the other side of the main intersection. There was a gas station on the corner that connected with a cell phone store and next to that was a mattress store, which Diana thought would be the best place for them to shack up for the night. She pulled into the parking lot and parked the truck sideways to fit in with the rest of the vehicles, hoping to make any onlookers think it was abandoned. Marie did the same and everyone shuffled inside as quick as they could, bringing the bags along so they wouldn't get soaked due to the lack of a tarp.

The air smelled chalky, like building fires had traveled in the winds with the rain. Cora pinched the bridge of her nose and massaged it with the tips of her fingers in a move that simulated she was trying to get rid of a headache. The ripped t-shirt wrapped around her hand was soaked with blood but they didn't have anything on hand to replace it with in their gear, so Tori made a sweep through the store to see what she could find. In the back by the employee bathroom she found what was left of a ripped open First Aid kit that still had some gauze left in it. Cora had taken a seat on one of the small mattresses by the front right corner of the room and was staring out the window when Tori showed up with the kit. She unwrapped her hand and winced at the pain when some new skin dislodged and the wound started bleeding again. Tori dabbed up the blood and wrapped it again as fast as she could, hoping to get it tight enough that it would clot overnight. Marie and Diana watched on the side as Sarah bounced from bed to bed, trying to find one that would suit her.

It only took another half hour for the sun to go down and then it was next to pitch black in the store. They had flashlights but they tried to only use them in emergency situations since there was never a guarantee of finding more batteries when the ones they had ran out, and light could be seen from a long ways off now that the power was out. Marie and Tori took to moving the beds around to make a clear path from one part of the store to the bathroom in the back in case any of them had to get up in the night, which was unlikely since none of them had really had much to drink. When they had a good enough setup everyone found a comfortable bed to lie on, which even though there were plenty to choose from Tori, Diana and Marie ended up sharing a large king sized bed while Cora and Sarah shared one of their own. There was a comfort in being close to someone, and comfort was definitely something they all needed.

In the blackness of the night the world seemed to come alive. A couple of the large pane glass windows were broken in the front of the store which allowed the sounds of night creatures to flow in, a chorus of crickets and frogs cooing them to sleep.

"Do you guys think Dom will be okay?" asked Cora.

"I'm sure he will be" said Tori. "I've known him for a while and he's always been responsible and dependable, so I have no doubt that he'll be all right."

"I hope so" said Marie. "It would be a shame if he didn't get a chance to continue his family line since the rest of them are gone."

No one really knew what to say next since they all were aware that Matthew was a hard subject for Marie, so instead of risking it the silence won over until everyone eventually fell asleep. Tori was the first one awake after only three or four hours so she crawled out of bed as carefully as possible, hoping to not wake anyone else up, then headed outside to watch the sun come up. They didn't have many luxuries anymore but some things were always free, like observing nature or interacting with animals. The sun rose slowly over the buildings across the street, sending beams of light scattering across the abandoned cars that refracted in a million different directions. The sky took on a warm purplish-orange glow that made her ache for home but she knew there was nothing she could do about that at the moment. As much as she wanted to go west to try to find her family they couldn't leave Dom in that situation by himself, so they would have to stick it out until their mission, whatever that actually was, was done.

It wasn't long after she first got outside that Tori felt something behind her so she turned to look as Diana passed through the door and took the spot on her right. They linked their fingers together and watched the sky as it slowly changed from pastel purple to a solid blue, albeit with a haze of gray in the distance from the fires in the city. Diana leaned her head on Tori's shoulder and they sat still and unspoken for the better part of the next half hour. The feel of Diana's slow, rhythmic heartbeat through her fingertips was soothing enough to almost put Tori back to sleep since she didn't get much of it, largely due to someone's unrest during a nightmare. She yawned and stretched her arms out in front of her while she twisted her neck, trying to crack it. Her eyes were closed so she didn't see but felt when Diana moved to position herself behind Tori and began massaging her shoulders. Tori got lost in the moment for a second before she felt guilty, remembering how Diana had driven most of the afternoon the day before and she deserved to be on the receiving end.

"You should be the one getting a massage, not me" said Tori, getting up so she could switch places. "I don't know why I didn't think of that before."

"Because you have a lot on your plate" said Diana, smiling kindly. "I know from when I finally confronted my great grandmother about it. She didn't know that I had found out what she was so when I told her she was really surprised, but since the cat was out of the bag she clued me in to how hard and exhausting it can be." She turned her body a bit so she could look Tori in the eye, then leaned forward and planted a small kiss on her lips that sent electricity through her entire body. "Just promise me you won't downplay it. If you're starting to feel drained, I want to try to help. We all need to be running on all cylinders and I would much rather you be happy and healthy."

Tori felt her body melt a little bit into her girlfriend's and they sat still in a hug for what seemed like a long time. The air was starting to thicken with heat already and it wasn't even eight o'clock. They were going to need to move soon so Tori planted two small kisses on Diana's neck, one on each side, then stood up and helped her onto her feet. They went back inside the store and shook the others awake gently, planning on getting them back on the road in the next fifteen minutes. Marie looked like she barely slept at all and Tori guessed it must have been her that was having the nightmare she felt, and it made her feel terrible. Marie tried to put on a smile but it was obvious she didn't have the energy to really sell it so it was easy to see through the cracks. The others could see as well but instead of bringing anything up they thought it better to just show her that they were there for her in subtle ways and allow her to come to them if she wanted to.

Everyone gathered their bags together and used little bits of water from one of the water bottles they'd gotten from the convenience store to brush their teeth before they reconvened at the vehicles. Tori did a routine check of the area to see if anyone was around and when she was satisfied there was no one she turned her attention to the group.

"Anyone have any ideas on what we should do?"

"I'm thinking we should maybe go around the outskirts of Denver and see what the city is like from a distance, and then search around here for some supplies we can use to make camp with." Diana pulled the keys out of her pocket and handed them to Tori. "We already have tents but we could use dinnerware, matches and food."

"I want to say we should split up to cover more ground quicker but we don't have any way to keep in touch with each other, so that's kind of dangerous." Tori glanced over at the dashboard of the truck and made a face. "We're also short on gas, so we should probably try to siphon some from these cars around here before we do anything else."

On that note the girls dispersed with tubes Dom had cut them when they stayed in the parking lot of the superstore they had met Jonny and his brothers in. There was only one gas can so when one of them would find a car with gas left they would plug the tube with their thumb and call Sarah over with the can, fill it with whatever they could and pass it along. It took about an hour to fill both of the vehicles and by the time they were done Cora looked like she was going to vomit. Tori gave her the last of the water to try and soothe her headache and get rid of the dehydration siphoning can cause, and the rest of them resorted to chewing gum.

When the gas can and tubes were stored back on the truck everyone started to pile in and Tori met Cora at the driver's side window of the car.

"We can split up a little bit once we hit the city, try to stay within a few streets of each other. If we lose sight we'll meet back at a certain building at a certain time. Watch for my hand signal and I'll point out a building and give a number for the time."

"OK."


	3. Chapter 3

Calloway stood a step back away from the table as his inner council poured over the map. Normally someone like Dom wouldn't be allowed in the room at that time since he was new and hadn't earned his way up the ranks, but at the same time that was his best asset; he was unknown. There were plenty of people in Calloway's faction that were capable of doing the things that needed to be done, but they had been seen before, and therefore had no element of surprise. Dom would be Calloway's new go-to guy for infiltration, something they had been needing for a long time.

Colin moved a small red piece from one spot of the map to another that Dom realized wasn't far from their current location. The others around the table looked curiously and pondered what the move meant, and after a moment some of them shook their heads positively while one or two of the others grimaced with some knowledge that Dom didn't have.

"If we move into that area too fast I think we'll hit a bigger backlash than we can afford to take right now" said one of the guards, adjusting his gun over his shoulder.

"We have a lot of good men on the outskirts of that sector that are itching to make a move sir," said another guard. "I think we should capitalize while they're at peak to minimize losses."

"I'm not really sure what I'm looking at so I can't really be the best assistance right now" said Dom, crossing his arms over his chest. "From what I can see I'm guessing there's a settlement somewhere in this sector and we're looking to move in there?"

"Yes" said Calloway, stepping back up to the table, "they hit one of our outposts about a week ago and killed four of my men. Stole a large amount of supplies."

"Do we have any intel on the actual people? Are they fighters, scouts, civilians?" Dom looked back and forth between Calloway and Colin for an answer.

"From what we've gathered they're scouts for a decent sized civilian group. They've been moving east from the coast, picking up people as they go. I sent out some scouts of my own after the last attack to try and get an eye on what's going on over there. They have a pretty good sized group, but that will also be their weak point. Lots of women and children, they won't move very fast." Calloway moved an orange piece from the side of the table to a spot about an inch away from the red piece. "This orange piece is you, Dom. They don't know who you are, so I'm thinking we might have an in with you. It'll be tricky since you look like someone I would have in my Faction, and they're on high alert for moles, but I feel that if you can get an in with this group we might be able to land a good enough surprise attack that we won't have to use deadly force."

Hearing Calloway say that they wouldn't be killing people was a jump start to Dom's upper body. He had been worried since he first came up with the idea to do this that he would be forced to kill an innocent person to keep his head out of the guillotine, and while that wasn't entirely out of the question, this recent remark had him off edge and relaxed a little more.

They continued to strategize for a moment until a small commotion sounded outside of the conference room doors. Everyone turned their attention up until a strikingly good looking woman and large-built man walked through the door with their eyes set on Calloway. Their introduction to the room was definitely something based on the way everyone seemed to stand very rigid and completely silent. Dom copped the same pose as the rest of them while the General and these new people talked in hush tones in the corner of the room for a moment, eventually breaking up when the man made his way to the table and the General and the woman left together. The man, whose service-issue name tag said Butler, addressed the table.

"General Calloway has given the green light to move this plan ahead." He turned his body a bit so he was facing Dom. "You're going to come with me for a little while, we have work to do."

"Yes sir" said Dom, nodding frankly. Colin and the other guards dispersed from the table and went to do whatever they needed to do while Dom waited for his instructions. Butler closed his eyes for a moment as if he was memorizing the positions of the map, and when he opened his eyes again he waved Dom towards with a quick "let's go."

The two of them headed out into the parking lot and got into a military issue Humvee that was waiting at the back of the hotel. Butler got into the driver seat and took off as soon as Dom shut the door. They sat wordlessly in the truck for the first ten minutes or so, watching the trees whip past the windows on the highway. Dom wondered if he had already been found out and this guy was taking him to a prison they had somewhere, but then he thought again that the Calloway he saw in Wanagi didn't seem like the kind of guy to keep prisoners. He knew that he had to get himself into a headspace where he didn't automatically assume the worst of every situation, since that stress was sure to get him caught sooner or later, but it was much easier said than done.

When they approached the third exit Dom had seen since they'd left the hotel Butler finally spoke up.

"Usually Calloway takes people that look like they know what they're doing so there isn't a rigorous training regiment that anyone needs to follow, since we like to get people moving as fast as possible. We're in the beginning of this thing still and timing is everything. You look like you're knowledgeable, am I right in thinking so?"

"Yes sir" said Dom.

"Good. You're getting specialized training from me and someone else to do what you need to do. The physical aspect I'm sure you won't have much trouble with, it's the personal aspect that we're going to try and hone. You'll be meeting with Giana for that."

They continued another few miles and took the next exit as Dom chewed over what was about to happen in his head. He was meeting another person in the upper ranks of the group and getting specialized training. It was kind of scary to think about what he was going to be taught and how he would have to use it, but it was also kind of thrilling at the same time. He had always talked about spy movies and stuff with Matthew when they were younger and about how they wanted to be secret agents. He was getting that chance now, for real, and if he screwed up it could cost him his life.

Butler pulled the truck into what looked like a warehouse district. Rows and rows of closed buildings stretched for probably a quarter mile with wide roads in between them that would easily accommodate a rig. They passed the first few rows and turned in towards the middle, making their way to the back of the section. As they went deeper into the district the warehouses got larger until they hit the back row, a curved street that was backed by a massive fence with three large buildings in front of it. Guards flowed freely from one building to the next, some carrying packages while others talked. Dom tried to drink everything in that he could while he was still in the car since he imagined as soon as his feet hit the ground he would be put to work. When the truck came to a stop Butler hopped out and he followed suit, finding out his instinct was pretty spot on. He was nodded forward by two highly armed guards who turned on their heels and headed for the building in the middle, so he trudged along behind them until they stopped in front of a smaller door on the left.

The guard on the right stood silently as the guard on the left gave Dom a walkthrough of the area.

"This is the workout center. All training exercises are performed here." He then pointed to the building on the right. "This is the infirmary. If you're sick, shot, whatever, you take care of it in there." Lastly he waved a lazy arm to the left side building. "That's Calloway's building. You don't go there unless you're directed to do so. All clear?"

"Yes sir" said Dom.

"The civilian buildings are on the other side of the soldier barracks but we have another set of people that take care of them. Take a minute to get acquainted with your surroundings and then we'll get you started."

The guards disappeared after that and Dom was given free roam of the outer street area. The buildings themselves were very large but they didn't really bare any specific markings, so leading people to this spot would have to be done by way of more apparent landmarks. He looked for odd-shaped trees or any sort of power lines that would be able to direct someone here but it seemed pretty bare beyond the district. He would just have to describe the general area and hope for the best.

A lot of the people in the district were tasked with inventory and the jobs associated with it. Hauling, unpacking, labeling, itemizing. Probably two dozen people scurried around like worker ants, muttering different bits of information as they passed each other. The bigger guys were stacking boxes full of what Dom guessed were canned goods in Calloway's building while the younger, not as developed people were counting and writing things down outside. They had a table set up and runners that buzzed between the two points to relay who had what and how much of it. It was a good system and Dom wondered if maybe he would be tasked with hauling boxes, a thought that didn't completely irritate him since he admitted he could bulk his upper body a bit for a fighting advantage.

Behind him a rumbling sound grew louder until two vehicles, a Humvee and a Towncar, pulled into the end of the district. A small group of soldiers got out of the Humvee in full tactical gear, helmets and all, while a couple people in suits got out of the Towncar. All of a sudden the scale of the whole operation felt way bigger than he had previously thought and his decision to be the inside man was bubbling in his gut. There was no way he could back out so it didn't matter how nervous he was, he had to continue on. That meant heading to the workout center to meet whoever his new trainer was going to be.

Inside was a sort of workout center that was peppered with members of Calloway's faction in the corners. Some of them were doing Kickboxing-style exercises while others were practicing balance on different sized gymnastics beams. Most of the people participating were in similar clothing, which Dom learned quickly was their sort of uniform. Dark grays and dark blues, pants and tight-fitting t-shirts. Easy, breathable, tactical. The instructors wore the same as the soldiers but you could tell when someone was higher up. They didn't have decorations like the old U.S. Service members did, but their uniforms were a little slicker, a little darker. It was a subtle thing at first but after a few minutes Dom could notice the difference more easily.

The walls of the building were mostly bare on the outside but the inside was a different story. There were pictures and posters, even sports jerseys taped up around the main workout floor. It reminded Dom of a sports bar with all of the memorabilia on the walls. He wondered if maybe that particular warehouse was like that before they got there, but the more likely alternative was that the soldiers that had joined from the surrounding areas brought some personal things with them when they fled their homes and ended up donating them to the cause.

Most of the equipment looked a little dated, especially the punching and speed bags, but they were sturdy enough to be used on a regular basis. There was an exercise bike and a stair stepper as well, but no Treadmill. He guessed that they were trying to consume power since he saw that there were lights on in quite a few of the buildings, but not many things inside them used it. Figuring out all of the little quirks and corners of these buildings and the people in them was going to take some serious time and effort.

Not long after he entered the building the same woman that he had seen in the conference room at the hotel headed in his direction. He stood at attention with his eyes down while she approached, and as soon as she was standing in front of him her face broke into a wide smile.

"You don't have to be so rigid."

"Oh, I'm sorry" said Dom. "I wasn't in the service but I've seen plenty of movies and stuff and I know they were really strict about that sort of thing."

"Well we're not like that around here. Some of the people are like that for Calloway but it's more because they're scared of him than anything. But if you're in this building, you aren't one of the normal soldiers, so you don't have to be super proper and bow or whatever shit people do these days." Giana adjusted her ponytail and looked Dom square in the eye. "All right tough guy, let's see what you got."

Dom hesitated and looked around to try and catch someone else's eye but not one was looking. "A-Are you serious?" The woman had her fists up and she was in a fighting stance so he mirrored her footwork, setting himself up in case she attacked. They stood like that for probably fifteen seconds until her stone faced cracked and she started to laugh a little.

"I'm just kidding, let's go."

"Where to?" asked Dom.

"The start of your training."

At the other side of the building there was another set of doors that led somewhere Dom was unsure of, but was about to find out in a moment. Giana went through first, pushing both doors open at once and Dom passed through behind her, squinting a bit at the bright lights. There was a small room with a table and two chairs and a large glass wall, and as soon as he laid eyes on it he knew what it was: an interrogation room, equipped with a two-way mirror and a pad of paper.

The table was bolted to the floor and there were some fresh spots of paint on the wall where you could tell holes were patched up, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't seem too intimidating. The chairs could still move freely so he pulled his back and sat down, clasping his fingers together on top of the table. Giana sat down across from him and smiled brilliantly, no doubt a move to catch him off guard.

"So you originally had a small group of people with you that decided to take off when given the chance to stay. Correct?"

"Correct."

"So you're saying it's correct that they decided to leave? Or is it more correct to say that you decided to stay?"

Dom's eyes peeled at the question and he immediately knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"We talked about it between ourselves. The girls thought it was too dangerous to be right in the middle of everything and wanted to try to stay on the outskirts, but this whole thing got my brother killed so I told them I wanted to stay and try to help get things back to normal."

"I see. How did they feel about splitting up with you?"

"It was hard. We said we would stick together through this thing in the beginning but as they say, stuff happens. You never know what decisions you'll have to make in the future."

Giana nodded her head and wrote something down on the pad of paper in front of her. "You just got bit by the nobility bug and decided that, regardless of the fact that it was Calloway and his men that killed your brother, siding with him was the best option?"

Dom was starting to get nervous but he did his best not to show it. He squeezed his hands together to relieve some of the stress and used the space of a few breaths to formulate a passable answer. "Well the way I look at it, yeah, Calloway got my brother killed, but it wasn't out of nowhere. It was because of this Conflict and what it's done to people, to this country. The only way we're going to get any sense of normalcy back is if we work together to rebuild what we had, and the best way to do that is to help the biggest power in the area, right? I figure the quicker we get the ball rolling on rebuilding to less of a chance there is for someone else's brother to die."

"That's very selfless of you, Dom" said Giana as she nibbled on the cap of her pen. "I kind of got the feeling when I first saw you that you're the kind of guy to worry more about others than yourself. You don't seem as...hard as most of the other people around here."

He wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or if it was a subtle hint that she knew more than she led on, but he didn't want to tip the scales either way by responding, so he sat in wait for her to continue.

She looked him over for a moment, scrutinizing his facial features, trying to figure out some more unsaid things about him. If she believed anything it was that people told you a lot more about themselves in their silence than they did with words. "So if you're such a stand up guy, why did I have a guard telling me they recognized you from somewhere else as a guy that killed a woman and stole her car?"

"I have no idea what you're referring to" said Dom, his heart slamming against his chest. "I've never killed anyone."

"Are you sure?" asked Giana, her expression unchanging.

"I'm positive. Killing someone is huge, I think I would remember if I did."

"OK, but why would this guard, who has no real reason to lie to me, want to implicate you in something so terrible?"

"I don't know. We just got into this area today. The area we were in before was, well, you know about Wanagi I'm guessing."

"I do. Did it happen there?"

Dom was starting to sweat. His hands were shaking and his body was doing everything it could to give him away, and in his bewilderment he couldn't do anything about it. "I really don't know what this guard told you exactly but I promise you it wasn't me. He saw someone else."

"I want you to concentrate really hard on the way you feel right now. Listen to your pulse, feel how your heart is slamming against your chest. Your hands are clammy and your fingers might feel a little cold, probably a little tingly." Giana wrote something else down in her pad and continued talking with her eyes down. "You feel jittery, like you can't relax. Like maybe someone is about to find out a lie you told and you're going to get in trouble. Am I right?"

"Yeah, but I don't understand" said Dom.

"There's a possibility that you'll be in a situation like this when we send you in for your mission, and my job is to prepare you for whatever may come. If you happen to get found out, or if they become suspicious and want to question you, you need to be ready. You need to react quickly and correctly. Calloway will not tolerate anyone in his ranks giving up information. About anything."

Dom heard the conviction in her voice and he knew that she wasn't kidding. So this whole thing was a test. She threw out a phony accusation to see how he would react as a test for interrogation from the other side. _Smart move _he thought, the 'enemy' as it were was definitely going to be looking out for people like him. "OK, so basically you want me to remember how it feels to be falsely accused as vividly as possible and try to force those same reactions on myself if I get questioned?"

"Precisely."

The next hour or two was spent with Giana in that room. They went over interrogation tactics, common questions and reactions from the enemy. She taught him how to spot certain types of people based on the way they presented themselves and attributed certain types of questions with each. His best weapon would be observation, and she was going to give him all the ammunition she could so he knew what to look for in the heat of the moment. Interrogation was about accuracy of information, sure, but at the root of it it was about breaking someone down, getting them to tell you things they shouldn't. Getting someone to completely give up hope and betray everything they love and care about and give you exactly what you need to end them. As the thought passed through Dom's head he realized how truly important his position was and what he could accomplish with it, but he had to force himself to stem his excitement and pay attention to the knowledge being offered, or his position would mean nothing to no one.

The interrogation techniques that Giana taught reminded him of how his parents used to work him and Matthew when they were younger. If something got broken around the house, instead of just getting them together and coming out and asking who broke it, they would pit them against each other. Tera would offer Matthew some sort of music related thing and Daniel would offer Dom a new tool or a piece of software for his computer in exchange for information. They both would resist as long as they could but eventually the want for the things they were promised grew to be too much to ignore, mostly because they knew that everything would be okay once they got the truth out and helped to replace whatever they broke. It was different in the real world though. If Dom broke and gave up information people could potentially die, and he surely wouldn't get anything for his old computer in return.

Giana led the questioning in a steady, rhythmic fashion, firing questions at him in controlled bursts. He had to try to choose the best answer for a question based on a list that was handed to him which had been broken down into sections. If he gave a wrong answer or took too long she made a buzzing noise with her mouth and did a mock hanging motion. Dom sat still and tried to control his breathing in between questions, concentrating harder on this lesson than he had anything else in his life.

"Do you know why Calloway thinks it's so important to have people like you and me on his side?"

Dom was silent for a second as he thought. "Because knowledge is power."

"Very good" said Giana. "Know thy enemy."

"For my missions, do you think I'll have to kill anybody?"

Giana considered his question with her eyes on the paper in front of her. "I think if we all do our jobs to the best of our abilities we should be able to get through most of this thing without a whole lot of casualties." She tapped her pen on the pad in what sounded like Morse Code. "Of course, there will definitely be a lot of bloodshed, but if that shedding stops or not depends on how quickly and accurately we can strike."

Something about the way she answered the question made Dom feel more comfortable with her. She seemed to be softer than Calloway, not just physically, but emotionally as well. Calloway was rough around the edges but his edges curled inward pretty steep. Giana on the other hand seemed to have a pretty solid grip on her moral compass, and that was something that made Dom feel a little more hopeful about the whole situation.

Once he could go through the list of questions and give an acceptable answer in the allotted time Giana smiled and stood up from the table, stretching wide with her eyes toward the door.

"I think it's about time we get out of here and find some food. How does that sound?"

"I'm starving" said Dom, blurting the words out so fast it sounded like he hadn't eaten in days, which was mostly true.

"Alright then, follow me."

Outside where Dom and Butler had originally entered the grounds were buzzing. Dozens of soldiers stood around talking and laughing, having drinks and eating. It looked like a normal party someone would be having on the fourth of July. In fact it was so real Dom felt like he was at least partially anticipating the the beginning of a firework show. The soldiers nodded their heads politely with smiles as he and Giana passed, and he couldn't help but return the smiles in kind. He knew in his heart of hearts that he wasn't the same as these people, but in a situation like that it was hard to tell sometimes. It's much easier to see someone as a monster when they're actually doing monster-like things, but when you see someone doing the same things that you enjoy it makes the distinction a lot harder to make.

A table had been set up to the side that had a small buffet of fruit and vegetables on it. Some other soldiers were moving through the line when they approached so they fell into the back and watched. Dom almost drooled on himself at the sight of fresh watermelon. It had been so long since he had had something really refreshing and nutritious to eat he almost forgot what it felt like to feel satisfied. Giana noticed the look on his face and just shook her head with a laugh.

Once they each had gotten something to eat they found a spot off to the side of the buffet table where they could stand and eat without being in the way. Dom watched as the soldiers interacted with each other. Talking, telling war stories and even dancing. Being with Calloway definitely had its advantages with the supplies but he was careful to separate his want of the finer things they were used to with the reality of how they acquired those things. During his watching of the people it occurred to him that of all the people dancing and having fun, Giana seemed to be staying right there with him, which struck him as odd.

"Shouldn't you be out consorting with your friends or something?"

"I probably would be if I called any of these people friend" said Giana. "I like to keep things professional."

"Good to know" said Dom.

"I have been known to let me guard down on movie night though."

She finished the last of the strawberry she was holding and tossed the paper plate into the trash can next to the table, then passed Dom with a courtesy nod as she headed toward the last building on the left. He took her leave as dismissal but he wasn't sure what to do so he just stood his ground and watched, waiting to see what the others did so he could follow suit.

Eventually the party started to break up little by little as people began filtering into some of the warehouses up the road. The crowd was beginning to thin out when he found Butler and Colin talking next to one of the Humvees so he made his way over to ask about the housing situation. When he approached the two of them they acknowledged him with a nod paused their conversation.

"I was just wondering how the housing works around here" said Dom.

"We just fill in from the last empty spot when we get new people. Last I knew we're in building D, which is the fourth one right over there." Butler pointed to the building and put his hands back in his pockets.

"OK, thanks. I'm gonna turn in, it's been a long day."

"Sure. Up and at 'em at 0600 tomorrow" said Colin.

"You bet" said Dom.

The thought of getting up at six in the morning wasn't exactly amazing but he was sure that he would get used to it soon. He usually didn't get up much later than eight on most days anyway, so two hours shouldn't make that much of a difference. The sun was all the way down behind the warehouses now and the sky streaked a dark purple with hints of pink. Stars began to poke out on his walk to the barracks, and with one last look at the sky he opened the door and walked into his new home.


	4. Chapter 4

The girls rode silently in their respective vehicles as they sped down the highway towards northern Denver. They planned on using the rest of the day to scope out the city from the outskirts, hoping that they could scout a store or two to look for supplies. Tori wasn't really expecting to find anything, neither were the others if they were honest about it, but everyone tried to keep up an appearance for everyone else so group morale would stay high. Sarah was still young enough to at least be somewhat fooled by it, and they had decided if they could make the situation easier on her, then it was worth it for all of them.

The treeline didn't give up much compared to what it would have before the conflict. Usually the stretches of woods along the highway would be rife with deer and other small creatures, but due to the panic and commotion from the Conflict it seemed that most of the critters had scurried off to their hidey holes. It wasn't a welcome thing, that's for sure, seeing as they were going to be camping in the area and small game would give them fresh meat to sustain themselves. Then again, she wasn't really sure anyone in their group had the know-how, or the stomach, to gut and cook an animal.

There was still plenty of cars on the highway and in some points it was hard to maneuver the cars around the stopped traffic. They got to a certain point where it looked like there had been an accident and people ended up fleeing their vehicles. Since there was a big concentration of them Diana thought it would be a good idea to pull over and check some of them for usable supplies, so stopped the truck and waited until Marie pulled along side her.

"We should take a few minutes to search these cars and see if we can find anything" said Diana.

"OK, we'll take the other side of the road" said Marie.

Initially it looked like most of the cars closest to them had been pretty empty, but their perseverance paid off after close to an hour when Cora hailed the rest of the group to an inconspicuous four door sedan about a quarter mile up the road. She had popped the trunk from inside the car and was standing with her back to it when the others arrived to check it out. They were instantly met with an awful smell that made their eyes water and Tori covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

"What is that?"

"There's a body in the car" said Cora, a look of disgust on her face. "But look what I found in the trunk."

There were two suitcases that had been unzipped and lay open with their contents to bare. The first one held two handguns with accompanying ammunition while the second one held a stockpile of pill bottles. They already had rifles from the soldiers in Wanagi but handguns were a lot easier to conceal, making them the better choice for recon style missions. The prescriptions in the second bag were everything from over the counter headache medicine to morphine pills, something that Cora hadn't missed.

"I took one of those when I first called you guys over, for my hand" said Cora. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not" said Marie, "you were shot. You deserve it."

"Well I wanted to make it known so we can keep an open group dynamic you know. We all make the decisions on how the resources are used together."

"Sounds good" said Diana.

"I agree" said Tori, zipping the bags back up. "I also agree that it smells horrible over here so we should haul these back to the car and keep searching on the way back."

They didn't find anything as exciting on the way back, only a couple of empty reusable water bottles, some bungee cords and tire iron, all of which they were still immensely thankful for. During their checks of the vehicles they had mapped out a way for them to get through and continue south so once they had loaded the vehicles the trip marched on. Conversation was kind of light since not much had happened in the last week except for the fall of Wanagi, and they had already gone over that as much as anyone wanted to. Talk of the town always ended up in back where Matthew's body lay in the road and no one wanted to revisit that scene in their head.

A solid few hours of travel led to an exit that seemed pretty devoid of traffic or any other debris so Diana made her turn off and Marie followed suit. Their car was just as quiet with Sarah lying quietly in the back seat and no real chatter up front. Marie and Cora didn't really know anything about each other so the potential for conversation was great, but the looming exhaustion and longing for a stable environment took all of the energy they had to be animated. It wasn't all bad, since silent car rides were the perfect opportunity to reflect on what had happened and build a vision going forward, which meant everyone had been using the time to form ideas for the next part of their lives.

The town they exited into was a sort of funnel that allowed people from the suburbs to enter the city for work and play. It wasn't a particularly big town but it had several major roadways into the city at all different points, which was at once a good and a bad thing. It gave them a lot of direct access to the city if they wanted to go in for whatever reason, but it also made it harder to watch their immediate area with so many potential directions of attack. Tori tried to take in as much of the area as she could and mentally map it so wherever they stopped she would be able to sketch out a rough map.

The first street they turned down looked like a scene from a movie. Nice houses stood pretty much untouched aside from a small layer of ash from the fires of the city. Fences still stuck up in front yards and fire hydrants stood red and yellow as they always had, almost like the conflict didn't even touch this area. She was about to impressed until they hit a four way stop and saw the next street over, which was almost the complete opposite. The further down they drove the signs of battle got more and more apparent until the last street that stopped at a T, which looked like it had been wiped out completely. Many of the homes were barely standing and some even smouldered still with small wisps of gray smoke fluttering into the air. Diana waved Marie up and she pulled next to them so the cars were side by side.

"You go left and we'll go right" said Diana. "We'll meet back here around eight, that's two hours."

"Sounds good" said Marie. "You guys be careful, keep your eyes open."

"You too."

Marie pulled off to the left and drove slowly as she swept her side of the street. Cora did the same on hers, eyes open for any sort of movement or buildings that looked like they could contain something useful. They passed through one neighborhood that had seen a pretty horrific accident at the corner of a four way stop. A bike was literally folded in half under a tipped over car that had very obviously burned at a high temperature, seeing as the rubber from the tires was melted into the pavement. The bike frame molded with the heat and made it look like it was attached to the car, and Cora shook her head with the thought of the outcome of the bodies that were involved in the accident. Marie leaned over and checked out what she was looking at, wincing a little at her own thoughts of what could have happened.

"Never thought we would see so much gnarly stuff in our lives, huh?" asked Marie.

"You said it. I just can't help but wonder who the people were that used to own the abandoned cars we find, or that used to run the stores we see have been broken into and looted."

"I know how you feel. The coffee shop I worked for was owned by this one guy but I was the only one that ever worked there. I did all of the inventory and stuff too, so it kind of felt like I owned it, you know. Makes me sad to think that someone probably broke in there the second they got the opportunity and stole all of the food and money. It kind of makes me feel like they took it from me personally."

"Yeah I guess I can understand that" said Cora. "That would piss me off too. You work so hard for something and then this happens and everyone feels like they can just take whatever they want."

"Problem is most of the time they can. Who's going to stop a crazy person with a gun?"

The last question sent each of them into their own heads, contemplating a situation where some insane person with a gun was trying to steal from them. Of course anyone in that situation would want to say they would stand up and fight for what was theirs, but no one can really make that call until they're in the moment itself. Circumstance changes everything.

The first split out of the original neighborhood brought them into a shopping district. There were three main buildings; a gas station, a supermarket and long rectangular building that Marie guessed was a strip mall. A quick look to the right showed Diana and Tori pulling into the gas station so Marie headed straight through the light to the strip mall. She parked close to the door with the car facing the road in case they needed to make a quick getaway and then waited by the door for Cora to get Sarah moving again.

They entered the mall together through the front doors and stepped first into a card store. There wasn't much that Marie figured could be of use in there so they only did a quick sweep of the isles and then fed into the main mall stretch. It was still light outside so the glass ceiling in the center of the place filled with a good amount of light, but going off into the stores was a different matter. The further stores were almost completely dark and navigating them was a pain, since a lot of them had already been turned over and much of the merchandise that wasn't looted was on the ground. A quick sweep of the directory showed that while the mall wasn't very large it had some interesting stores, including a Cabella's. Cora pointed to it on the directory and and looked over her should to see which direction they should go.

"We need to check here first. If any of these stores have things we need it'll be this one."

"OK" said Marie. "Lead the way."

A few of the stores looked like they had been completely cleaned out, mostly the ones with clothes or candy, while some looked like they hadn't been touched. Upon passing a Claire's Marie remembered when she first got her ears pierced. Her mom had taken her to the one in the mall by their house when she was seven years old after she saw a girl around her age with earrings at school. She bugged her mom for days from morning to night about getting them done and finally she had gotten her wish. When they got to the store and she actually saw someone in front of her get it done however, she almost changed her mind. The thought of getting something sharp jabbed through her ear didn't even cross her mind at first, she just wanted to look pretty. She smiled at the memory and even laughed internally at how vain she could be sometimes.

The store they were looking for was around the second bend they took from the center of the mall. The big green banner hung proud over the entrance, claiming for all to see that their store was the end all be all for your outdoors experience. It was obvious from the get go that the place had already been hit pretty hard but it would be naïve to turn around without checking it out, so Marie led the way in. Cora and Sarah broke left and she went right, checking along the wall to the back end to see if anyone was in there before she continued deeper. There weren't any apparent signs of people so she weaved in and out of stands to get to a display case in the middle of the store that held hunting knives. The case was broken and the majority of the knives were gone but a few remained, although they were small. She grabbed two of the four and left the others for someone else to find, feeling fortunate that they had found anything at all. Cora inspected a large rack of fishing gear, thinking maybe they would be able to find a fishing pole or two to use in the woods. Sarah picked up a premade tackle box and showed it to Cora who nodded in acceptance.

Most of the other items they would have been able to salvage had already been taken as far as weapons went, and most of the clothing was geared towards cold weather or particular activities like watersports. The girls met back up and did a sweep of the back wall together, finding nothing of interest, then made their way back to the front of the store. They passed a fountain with real fish in it that wasn't running anymore but it still looked serene, making each of them want to sit on the edge and relax for a bit, but they knew they had a job to do.

The rest of the stores were a bust so a mutual decision was made to clear out and find another building. On the way Cora checked her watch in the light and saw they still had plenty of time left, so she held a thumb up to signal Marie and they headed back to the car.

The gas station Diana pulled into was pretty good sized, having service pumps on both sides of the building. Tori got out and went to the back of the building to check the perimeter and didn't encounter anything except more abandoned cars, so she circled back around and they went into the store together. Most of the merchandise was surprisingly still there, even down to the alcohol, so they searched for bags behind the counter and started filling them. Diana unwrapped a king size Snickers and took one half for herself and handed the other to Tori.

"Can you believe all this stuff is still here?" asked Diana.

"No, this is really a great find" said Tori. "I hope we can find more places like this but I think we got lucky here."

"Well keep a positive attitude and maybe we will. You know, they say the universe kicks back what you put out."

"Who said I put out?" Tori joked with a playful look in her eye.

"Call it a hunch" said Diana.

"Sassy, I like it."

They laughed together on the way back out to the truck and sat down on the curb side by side. The haul they'd gotten from the gas station was probably going to be the best they could hope for in the area so Tori decided it would be alright if they hung out for a few and just enjoyed each other's company. It was much easier to do out in the open instead of in the truck, especially when they had food and water in their bodies.

It was starting to get warmer by the day. They were heading into the the latter half of May and before they knew it June temperatures would be creeping up. They mostly still had warm clothes from when they left the city, although everyone was smart enough to pack some lighter things too. They would need to go through their bags when they found a campground to re-prioritize their packs. The thought reminded Tori of Matthew's pack and what they would do with it, and she figured he would have wanted them to split it equally. She was still sore about the whole thing, how such a good person had been cut down so unnecessarily and so early in life. He told her about how he wanted to try and start a traveling band that would be able to play music for different groups of survivors across the country. He said they would just travel from one side to the other, top to bottom, looking for groups of people that needed a pick-me-up from the Conflict and they would stay for a night and play their hearts out. Although the good memories made her smile she couldn't help but let a few tears fall, and she had to admit it felt good to let go a little bit.

"What's the matter?" asked Diana.

"It's nothing" said Tori, wiping her palms across her eyes. "I was just thinking about Matthew and his plans to bring the country back together with his traveling band."

"Yeah that sounds like him" said Diana. "I have a feeling he would have been great at something like that."

"He was. I heard a few songs of his that he had recorded himself over time, and he definitely had a gift."

Diana stood up from the curb and held her arms out to Tori, who took them and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. They looked into each other's eyes, trying to feel each other out and see what lay under the surface in words unsaid. Tori took a step forward and melted into Diana's arms, her head turned to the side and lodged into Diana's neck. They stood like that for the better part of five minutes, rocking side to side so slowly that it was almost unnoticeable until the sound of an engine brought them out of their moment. Diana spotted the truck crossing the parking lot of the mall at a steady speed so she grabbed Tori and ducked her next to their own vehicle.

"That's not Marie and Cora."

"No it isn't" said Tori, peeking around the front bumper. "What do we do? Wait and see where they go?"

"It looks like they're going around to the back of the building. We need to move and see if they go inside."

They hopped into the truck and Diana started it up, creeping slowly at first until the truck disappeared around the corner. She sped up to cover ground as quickly as possible and slowed down again when she reached the side of the building. A little feathering of the gas pedal fed the truck up to the edge just enough so they could see around the corner and they spotted the other truck parked near a set of back doors. A man and a woman got out of the truck and headed for the doors but neither of them got a good look at their faces.

"We need to warn them somehow" said Tori.

"Yeah but we can't do that without giving ourselves up either way" said Diana. "I think it would be better if we give them the benefit of the doubt that they'll hear these people coming and hide before they're spotted."

Diana backed the truck up and pulled around to the front doors where Marie had parked the car. She angled the same way out just in case and the two of them sat there waiting, eyes trained on the doors. A few minutes passed and nothing happened so Diana turned the truck off and stepped out again, leaving the driver's side door open. Not even a minute after they had gotten out of the truck a scream erupted from inside the mall and the unmistakable bang of a gunshot followed, prompting Tori to run directly towards the door.

In the mall she heard pounding footsteps coming from the right, and as soon as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw Marie skidding around the corner with Cora and Sarah right behind her. The pursuers weren't too far behind since they made an appearance immediately afterward, but something interesting happened as soon as the two groups made eye contact. The woman stopped dead in her tracks while the man kept running, but when he realized the woman wasn't behind him anymore he stopped.

"Let's go F-"

"Diana?" The woman interrupted with a surprised tone in her voice.

"Faye?"

Tori stepped forward but another gunshot into the ceiling made her jump backwards. Her eyes flickered wildly between Faye and the unknown man, not sure what was going on. What she was sure of was that the man in between them had a gun and he wasn't afraid to pull the trigger.

"What are you doing here?" asked Faye.

"I guess I could ask you the same question" said Diana.

"Who cares, let's get out of here" said Marie.

"Made some new friends, Di?" Faye shifted her weight to the right and jutted her hip out.

"You could say that" said Diana, stepping forward and taking Tori's hand in her own.

"Ah, I see" said Faye. "And how's that going for you?"

"It's going well, thanks" said Tori.

"Alright then well this has been a blast, but we have to go." Faye turned to walk back the way they had came but the man that was with her didn't move.

"That's it?" asked Diana.

"Why, is there anything else?"

"I don't see you for over a year and then we run into each other like this, and you're just in and out in less than a minute?"

"Well you know me, I don't like to cause a scene in public."

Diana felt like she was being blown off and suddenly wasn't interested in talking anymore. "Fine, let's go guys." She turned around without another look and headed through the door with the rest of the girls in her wake. Outside they piled back into the vehicles to head out but before they could get underway the mall door opened and Faye passed through.

"Are you staying around here or passing through?"

"We're not sure yet" said Tori.

Faye seemed to chew on her words for a second but recovered quickly. "We're with a group of people the next town over and we're always picking up new people. So if you don't have anywhere to go you could come with us."

"Jesus Faye are you gonna walk them right into the camp no questions asked?" The man she was with looked wild-eyed with his finger on the trigger.

"I've known this girl my whole life, she's cool" said Faye.

"Yeah but you don't know the rest of these people."

"Well obviously she trusts them and if I trust her, then you know, transitive property."

The man looked confused and Tori guessed that he didn't put a lot of stake in book learning. Marie and Tori exchanged a look that Cora caught, and the three of them all looked to Diana to see what she would say. Diana could feel the eyes on the back of her neck and she wondered if that's how Dom felt in the hotel with Colin and Calloway. She sure felt the pressure of making group decisions but now wasn't the time to weight the pros and cons.

"I can't make the decision by myself, but I'm willing to go. If these three are willing to come along that's their own choice."

"I'm in" said Tori.

Marie looked at Cora and they both shrugged their shoulders.

"Why not" said Cora.

"Alright then. You can follow us back to camp."

Faye and the unnamed man walked along the edge of the building to the left so they could wrap around and get their truck. Once inside they circled back to the front and Diana pulled behind them, followed closely by Cora, who had switched seats with Marie. They pulled out of the parking lot single file and headed west towards their potential new home.

The drive took about twenty minutes and by the time they had gotten close to the camp Tori wasn't sure there even was one. The area they had arrived in was pretty bare and it definitely didn't look like there was a settlement anywhere nearby. Two roads ran parallel to each other with a strip of self storage containers between them and then met on the other side, but the newly joined road ran out and became dirt at the edge of a large field with trees on either side. Tori looked at Diana and neither one of them really knew what to think, so they just continued behind in silence. Faye's truck continued into the dirt and made a bee line for the trees on the right side, eventually pulling into the woods. The trail looked really rough from the outside but once they had driven about half a mile the brush cleared up into a clean trail. They took the trail another five minutes and eventually came into a decent sized clearing in the middle of the woods, completely with a tent city and bonfire.

"Imagine that" said Tori.

"You said it."

There had to be at least a few dozen people in the clearing they pulled into. There was a row of cars and trucks off to the side that Faye was heading for so they followed and found a place to park beside her. When they got out Faye was standing by her door waiting for them to give a small tour of the place. Once Marie and Cora and Sarah caught up Faye moved forward wordlessly.

They walked to the center of the clearing where a bonfire was smoldering and a few people stood around talking. They nodded at Faye as she passed and eyed the rest of them a little suspiciously, but that was to be expected. Faye continued walking until she reached the road they entered on and turned around to face everyone.

"This section to the left is for setting up camp. Tents, sleeping bags, whatever you have. The middle where the bonfire is is a common area, sort of a meeting place or whatever. Off to the right is a trail that leads to an outhouse and the supplies are kept in the big R.V in the back."

Tori checked out each section separately then stood back on her heels with her arms across her chest. She waited and watched as the other girls did the same, scoping out the area, watching the people a little bit to get a feel for how they operated. It only took a couple minutes until everyone seemed to be satisfied enough with what they had seen to give their nod of approval. Faye turned to Diana to see what she had to say and blushed a little bit when they made eye contact.

"Looks nice" said Diana. "We wouldn't mind staying for a few days if that would be all right."

"A few days? You got somewhere else you need to be?" asked Faye.

"I don't know. Maybe." Diana looked down at her hands as she picked some dirt out of her nails. "I know Tori wanted to go west and see if we can find her parents and her sister at one point, she may still."

Faye's face turned to one of concern at the mention of going towards the coast. She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat before speaking. "You, uh, you can't go out to the coast. There's nothing out there."

"What do you mean?" asked Tori.

"Just what I said. We're going east for a reason. Everything to the left of us is gone. Most of the towns burned to the ground at the start of the Conflict."

Diana reached forward and took Tori's hand again, squeezing it tight. Marie bit her lip and rocked back and forth on her heels with her hands in her pockets while Cora brought Sarah into her side. They all looked around in a moment of silence since no one really knew what to say. The man that Faye was with nodded her over to him so she bowed her head and backed away slowly, then turned and disappeared.

There wasn't much to do from then on except to get their tents set up, so they returned to the truck so everyone could grab their bags. Once everything was hauled over to the tent section they worked on getting everyone's tents up, one after the other until they were all standing and poled into the ground. Marie dusted her hands off on her pants and looked accomplished, which was something for her since her only interaction with camping equipment before a month ago was on the Outdoor channel on cable. Cora and Sarah ducked inside of their tent with their bags to get working on rearranging some things and Marie did the same. Diana watched a few kids playing with a football near the center of the clearing when Tori came up to join her.

"How are you feeling right now?" Tori asked. "You gotta be reeling a little bit at least."

"Yeah. I never expected to see anyone from the circle, especially like this. I think she's mad at me for leaving her." Diana used the tip toe of her shoe to drill a hole in the grass.

"She seems a little ruffled in the feathers but I'm sure that's nothing a little time together won't smooth over. Once we get settled in you guys can take a walk and talk things out."

"I hope you're right, it would be a lot easier if we were on good terms."

"So, do you think this place is it?" Tori asked, extending her arms to the grounds in front of them.

"I don't know, I really don't. I hope we can at least be comfortable here for a little while, it would help a lot in planning for the next stage."

"What's the next stage anyway? Where do we go from here?"

Diana looked Tori in the eye and answered as matter-of-factly as possible. "We go see Dom."


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning a siren sounded at promptly six AM to alert the soldiers that it was time to get back to work. Dom still felt drained from the stress of the previous day but he forced himself up and out of bed. The others in his building all got moving as well, slowly but surely. They dressed in silence and made their way out the front door towards the main street he had arrived on the night before. Again he still wasn't too sure of protocol so he decided following his bunkmate would be the best option. He stayed on his heels until they were outside where the party was last night, but this time the table had been set up for a morning meal. A few guards stood around the table and watched as the soldiers all filled paper plates with fruit and bread, making sure no one took more than they should.

Dom chewed slowly on a strawberry when he felt a soft elbow to his left kidney.

"Hey there" said Giana. "Rise and shine, 'eh?"

"I guess so" said Dom. "I'll have to get used to this again."

"It doesn't take long, maybe a week or so to get over the yawning."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

Giana grabbed a piece of bread and bit into it, staring off into the distance the same way Dom was. They didn't speak for another five minutes until each of them had had their fill, and once the plates hit the trash can the day was on.

"We head out in ten so meet me back here at this truck." Giana pointed to the Humvee next to them and started off towards Calloway's building. "Don't be late."

Deciding he didn't have anywhere to go Dom stayed by the truck and waited for her to return. Soldiers funneled in and out of the area, some in trucks and some on foot. Everyone seemed to have a set goal in mind as they moved with purpose, always heading from one place to another with very little slacking in between. It was pretty incredible that Calloway had found so many people to be loyal to him in such a small amount of time, but he had learned in that same span to not underestimate the length people will go to to keep themselves alive.

When Giana reappeared from the building she wore a slim bow across her shoulders with a quiver facing the other direction. She nodded to the truck to tell Dom it was time to go so he climbed in and waited, buckling his seatbelt just in case. The soldiers between Giana and the truck seemed to eye her as she passed, whether longingly or with respect he couldn't tell without seeing their faces.

The two of them set off south of the warehouse district to a location unknown to Dom. He didn't feel it prudent to ask questions since he was still new and wasn't really sure about information he should and shouldn't know, so he sat in silence wondering if the information would be given up without coercion. They passed a small group of traffic on the highway until they came to a break in the guard rail where someone had plowed through it. The car was still there with two bodies inside of it, having lost their lives in the accident. As they passed Dom tried to avert his eyes but the reality was they were going to see a lot of that for a while to come, until things got back to normal and the cleanup started.

It didn't really seem like there was a trail in the direction they were headed, more like Giana was just creating one as they went. After a few minutes he noticed the signs of trailblazing and realized someone had in fact come though before them, and he wondered if maybe they were doing some sort of recon. Before he got the chance to ask the truck stopped.

"Let's go, but stay quiet" said Giana.

"Care to let me in on what's going on?" asked Dom.

"We're here to check out a pipeline. There could be others in the area so keep your eyes open and stay on me."

Dom got out of the truck and strapped his rifle over his shoulder. Giana led the way through a smaller trail that branched off to the right, complete with thorn bushes and what looked like poison ivy. The two of them hiked a good half a mile before the beginnings of a clearing started to lay out in front of them and Giana stopped their progress with a firm hand.

"This area has direct access from the north side of the city to where our scouts have traced the other faction that robbed us. We have intel that they're funneling resources from the city through this pipeline to their camp, which is off about ten miles to the right."

Dom checked the treeline on both sides and scanned the horizon, looking closely to spot any heads that could be seeking them out. "From what I gathered that group is mostly civilians though, so there shouldn't be too many people running this area, right?"

"The last solid information we got on their group was about two weeks ago, and we're still in the beginning of this thing so there's no telling what it looks like now. It could be completely different from the picture we have." She backed them off of the line of the clearing and turned to face him in the trees. "The goal is to get you in with them and have you figure out their supply schedule. Routes, times, bodies, anything you can, and feed it back to us."

"I can do that. How do we rendezvous? It's gonna be tricky for me to get away from guards to leave secret messages in the woods."

Giana smiled at the thought of Dom trying to sneak through the night like a cat burglar. "We've scouted ahead. About six miles from here is a river that flows west for quite a ways, and we think the faction supply runners are fishing there for fresh meat. There's an old willow tree on this side of the river where it forks off to the south. You get in on one of the details down there and you can leave a note by the tree."

"What's my way in? Stranded, traveler?"

"That's up to you."

"OK" said Dom. "But if they're set up in the woods, how am I going to just happen upon them without seeming suspicious?"

Giana took a deep breath and before Dom knew what happened he felt a sharp blow to the face. He staggered backwards and caught himself just before he fell, but before he could right himself properly he felt another blow to his ribs. One after another on different sides of his body the blows landed until he wrapped his head around the situation and was stable enough to fight back. He caught Giana's wrist and spun her around, pulling her tight into his body so she couldn't move her arms.

"What the f-"

Before he could finish his sentence she hip checked him in the gut which caught him off guard, and she used that momentary slip up to weave herself out of his grasp and land a solid final blow to his jaw. Dom fell onto one knee and Giana slipped the rifle off of his back, then tossed it into the truck.

"People are more susceptible to pity acceptance when they see someone has been beaten" said Giana.

"I take it training is over then?" asked Dom. He knew the answer, he could feel it in his ribs.

"Calloway works fast and he was impressed with my report on you from the interrogation room. Plus, the less you actually know about this side the better off you'll be in case you really do end up in one of those rooms."

Dom was a little woozy on his feet but he figured he would be able to manage ten miles. Giana pointed him in the right direction and then circled around to face him once more.

"Shame to wreck such a pretty face, but you'll heal."

"I'll take that as a compliment" said Dom.

"You do that, and hold onto it if you feel like you're starting to slip." She turned to walk back to her truck and leave but stopped a few paces away. "We have other spies in the area so if you ever feel like turning and working with them instead of with us, you better hope you trust the right person."

With those last words she continued to the truck, got in and took off, leaving Dom alone in the woods. He figured he should get moving so he started his trek through the clearing, heading for some group in the woods that had no idea he was coming.

A few hours into the trip he was starting to get tired, partly from the ass kicking he'd been given and partly from hiking with no nutrition in his body. The sun was rising higher in the sky and the temperature with it, and by the time he felt he needed to stop and take a break he heard the sound of rushing water. At first he wondered if maybe he was delirious and hearing things but another couple hundred feet ahead of him was the river Giana had mentioned, flowing with a quick undercurrent to his left. He couldn't immediately pick out the willow tree, so he assumed it must be either up or down the river a ways and bent down to get a drink. The water was clear and cool, a welcome refreshment to contrast the heat.

Being in the woods again reminded him of the yearly camping trips he had taken with his dad and his brother during the summer time in northern Michigan. Matthew had finally taken a liking to the outdoors after many years of coercion, something their father was immensely proud of. Both of his boys, ready to gear up and take on nature like men with just tools of the trade and the sweat of their brow. Every year they would go to a different spot on the same river, going up a few miles until they finally reached a waterfall at the mouth of the lake. They had planned to hike up the waterfall and check out the rapids on the next trip but the accident happened, and they never got the chance.

The first time they had gone out together Matthew had never set up a campsite before, meaning he needed to be shown the ropes. Dom thought it would be funny to mess with him a little and tell him he needed all kinds of materials he didn't actually need to set up the tent, so when their dad came over to check on the progress he saw Matthew with tape, scissors and a really confused look on his face. He saw Dom standing there trying to hide a smile and scolded him for in front of Matthew for being a pain, but when he turned to head back to the water he gave Dom the finger gun and wink combo. He wished so hard that he could see his parents one more time that it caused a physical pain in his stomach. Seeing the trees so green and full of life was almost like a living testament to them though, and in that moment he felt like he could feel them looking down on him, guiding him through the dangerous territory he was in. For a while, he felt like things would be okay.

By the time mid day hit it felt like one hundred degrees out. The thickness of the woods didn't do much to shade the sun, it actually made the air seem more dense and harder to swallow. He wasn't making very good time since his right hip was busted and he was walking with a limp but he pushed through, snapping to attention when he saw two guards walking the perimeter about a hundred yards ahead of him. They walked away from each other to the furthest ends until they turned around headed back toward each other, not missing a beat. Dom knew he would be seen in a matter of minutes so he cleared his head and put his game face on. It only took another two minutes until one of the guards turned toward him with his gun aimed at head level.

"You there!" the guard yelled, "hands up!"

"I'm injured" Dom shouted back. "I need help."

The guards watched as he took another few steps and then fell to his knees, playing out the dehydrated straggler. It wasn't far from the truth really, since he hadn't had anything to drink at all that day and had just walked ten miles through the woods after getting his ass kicked. The guards jogged up to him and helped him to his feet, and after getting a look at his face they hauled him forward to the perimeter of the camp.

They led Dom into a medical tent that had a few salvaged gurneys set up in two rows on each side. Two women and a man talked in the corner as he was drug into the tent and laid down on the first available surface. The doctor strung his stethoscope around his neck and excused himself from the nurses.

"What do we have?"

"This guy was walking towards us through the woods, said he was injured." The guard that had first pointed his gun at Dom explained the situation. "Then after that he kinda passed out. I think he's probably dehydrated."

"Nurses, we need some water" said the doctor.

A minute later both nurses came back with steel buckets of water and plastic cups. The blonde nurse scooped one of the cups into the bucket and handed it to Dom, making sure he had a grip on it before helping him raise it to his lips. He drank the whole cup down and then a second, refusing a third so he could catch his breath.

"Who did this to you, son?" asked the doctor.

"I don't know" said Dom. "I was going north from the city and I hit a convoy crossing by a convenience store. I was thirsty, looking for something to drink and they spotted me coming out the back way."

"Do you remember what they were wearing?"

"There was a few of them and it all kind of happened fast, but the one guy I saw clearly was wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue pants."

The doctor grimaced and both of the nurses shook their heads. Dom felt the first piece of the puzzle click into place and he relaxed a bit, feeling some of the stress of his trek start to melt away with the water he had drunk. The guards nodded politely and excused themselves from the tent so they could go back to their posts on the camp line while the nurses tended to the wounds on his face.

Once he was cleaned up and bandaged the nurses got him to his feet and showed him to the entrance of the medical tent where he was met by another guard. This guard was younger looking than most, couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen years old, but he was well built and held his weapon like he was highly trained. Dom guessed he must have been a hunter before the Conflict and the thought actually helped to assuage any fears of danger from Calloway's faction. The guard gave him a once over and showed him to the tent city without any questions asked.

"I've been told you got here with no supplies but we have extras, so we'll have you see Gill about getting a tent and a change of clothes."

"Thanks" said Dom. "The people that ganged up on me took everything I had."

"Not surprised" said the guard. "I actually am surprised they even let you go. A guy your size with your build, usually if you don't join them they save the hassle and kill you right there."

"What do you mean 'they'?" asked Dom.

"Calloway and his goons, that's who attacked you. They think they run things around here but they have another thing coming. Especially if they run into me."

Dom took note of the way the kid stood and presented himself, and the way he seemed to be slightly cocky and sure of his word. He knew that he would need a good source of information and based on what he'd seen in the last few minutes this kid would be a gold mine. "How do I get involved in helping out?"

"Easy there killer" said the guard. "You got beat up pretty bad. The council is going to want you to heal up for a day or two before you get put to work, just to be sure you don't reinjure yourself."

"I suppose that makes sense" said Dom. "I just want to get those pricks before they do this to anyone else."

"I hear you man. Calloway killed my mom and I've been here ever since." The guard stared down at his feet for a second but bounced back quickly. "I'm Manny, if you need anything let me know."

"I'm Dom. Thanks man." He shook the guard's hand and watched as the guy headed out to wherever he was supposed to be.

A quick check of the surroundings proved the Humboldt faction to be more organized than Calloway and his faction thought. They had tidy rows of tents all fitted with laundry lines and enough space to be comfortable. The middle bonfire area was big enough that everyone could group around together but cozy enough that it felt like a family setting. The people that buzzed around seemed to be as happy as they could be in that situation, and that was more than they could say for some of the people they met on the road.

A large tent at the end of the front row was dressed on the outside with red fabric around the doorway and Dom figured that was where Gill probably was. He started over that way, aware of the eyes that were on him as he moved. A lot of the people smiled and waved while some didn't look as pleased to see him, but he attributed that to his busted appearance. Some kids were playing football in the open space and the ball got away from them, landing at his feet. He picked it up and threw it back much to the delight of the kids, and in doing so he caught a glimpse of someone struggling with a tent the next row in and almost vomited up his heart.

"Hey, do you need some help with that?" He jogged over and grabbed the top of the tent as it fell to the side, then pulled the material taught so the pole would bend easier.

"I, uh, yeah. Thanks" said Tori, feeling completely bewildered and unsure of what to do when she turned toward the voice and realized it was Dom.

"My name is Dom, I just got here."

"I'm Tori" she answered, looking around them to see if anyone was watching. When she didn't meet any eyes she lowered her voice and spoke quickly. "What the _hell_ are you doing here? And what happened to you?"

"What, are you not happy to see me?" said Dom, smiling at the confused look on everyone's faces.

"Obviously we're glad to see you, but we thought-"

"Yeah, change of plans. They wanted me here on the inside so I can feed them information. I told them I got jumped by Calloway's men and they stole my gear, it was my way in."

Tori tried to process the information as fast as possible while continuing to work on their tent, as to not draw any suspicious eyes. "OK, how can we help?"

"The best thing you can do is pretend like you don't know me. Treat me like one of the rest of these people." He lifted up the side of the tent and slid the pole the rest of the way through to the other side so Tori could grab it and hook it into the pocket on the ground by the stake. Marie and Cora busied with their own tent but the listened carefully, trying not to make it look obvious that they were watching.

"Thanks for the help, man" said Tori, reaching out to shake Dom's hand.

"Not a problem. I'm supposed to see Gill, I'm guessing this is him over here?"

"Yep, that's him."

"Cool, I'll see you around."

He could feel their eyes on the back of his head as he walked toward Gill's tent and looks on their faces still had a smile on his. He approached Gill's place and stopped, unsure of what to do. There wasn't really a way to knock on a tent door so looked around for a second until he caught a glimpse of an older man working in a small garden next to the plot. The garden was only about ten feet long and four rows wide but it looked like it could hold a fair amount of crop. He made his way around the side of the tent and when Gill heard him approaching he looked up from the dirt, hoe in hand. He was tall at probably six feet three inches with dark skin and and graying black hair. His face was scruffy and he had wrinkles around his eyes, with the latter two things being the only indications that he was older.

"What can I do ya for, son?"

"I just got here. I was robbed out in the city and I don't have anything anymore, so I was told to come see you."

"Well you were told right" said Gill, standing up from the garden to brush himself off. "I'll get ya a tent and when you get set up you can go see Paula about getting another set of clothes."

"Thank you sir" said Dom. "I appreciate it."

"All in kind, son. All in kind."

Gill disappeared for a minute inside of his own tent and came back with a miniature dufflebag in his hand that contained a single person tent, complete with rain guard and tent poles. Dom accepted the tent and let the bag hang at his side while he followed Gill's finger to see where he should set up.

"Third row on the end, there's a spot right there. Head on back this way."

He followed Gill alongside the garden and continued on until he found his spot, which was coincidentally within spitting distance of Tori and the rest of the girls. He was happy that they wouldn't be far from each other and that they would be able to pass messages fairly easily compared to if he would have been situated more rows back or on the other side. Tori gave him a quick nod when she saw him start to set up camp and then she headed inside her own tent to get herself situated.

Diana was inside the tent with her sleeping bag already rolled out and the contents of her backpack laid on top of it. She was poking idly through the different pieces, moving like pieces into piles that would be easier to sort through. Tori watched her silently and began to unpack her own stuff, realizing in the middle that her pack had gotten pretty trashed over the past couple of weeks. They had been in and out so much in Wanagi that no one really had time to do much organization and that meant things were thrown all over the place. Normally it wouldn't make much difference but in their new world where a few seconds could mean the difference between saving someone's life or getting caught, they needed to be ready.

A good portion of that afternoon was spent pretty individually for most of them. They each took time to get their packs in order and have a little rest and relaxation in the comfort of a safe place. None of them were naïve enough to believe that they couldn't be hurt there, but they rested easier knowing that there were plenty of guards around with weapons that would alert everyone to a threat with enough time for them to be ready for it. They had all agreed during one late night chat in Wanagi that the worst part of the whole conflict was the unrest. They never knew when someone was going to test them, or how they would react in the moment. It was a game of cat and mouse really; Calloway was the cat and they were the mice. They just had to pray they were fast enough to get the cheese and get back to their hole in the wall before they got caught.

The tent city had a lot of side tables where people set up personal bartering stations with all different kinds of items and it reminded Cora of going to the flea market with her mom and sister when she was younger. Sarah was probably only four or five years old so she wasn't really interested in the market itself, but Cora was just starting to learn about money and how to own her own things, so going shopping was something she looked forward to. She wasn't aware of it at the time but her mom had pulled a pretty masterful move and taken her to the flea market the first time to show her all of the things she could have if she wanted them bad enough, and when Cora wanted them bad enough to ask how to get them, her mom introduced her to chores. Thinking back to it made her laugh but it also made her miss her mom a lot, and she tried to hide that from Sarah so she would learn to be strong too.

From looking around Marie guessed that most people were there either singularly or with one to two other people, and that most of the groups were people that had banded together in other places. It was rare to find families that were still together or groups of people that knew each other before the Conflict so she figured that their group would be somewhat of a neat story for the rest of the camp. That led to her wondering if they actually did sit around that bonfire at night and tell stories about people and places before the Conflict, or if maybe it made people too sad and they tried to avoid it. It seemed like they would be there for a little while at least so they would find out pretty soon.

The afternoon sun had crested and begun to sink slowly but surely. The sky behind the trees was dusted pink and blue and eventually a few stars started to poke through, signaling the coming end of the first day at the new camp. Tori wasn't sure where they would be in the next week or the next month, but they had done pretty well for themselves since the beginning and she felt that they would be able to take anything that came their way. They had already dealt with the loss of one of their own, something none of them ever thought they could deal with, so something small like being uprooted every few weeks wouldn't bother them too much. It might get tiring after a while, not having a place to call home and feeling like you're constantly on the run, but sure enough there were no viable alternatives.

When the sun disappeared behind the treeline the glow of the fire seemed even more inviting so the girls grouped together and headed in, attempting to find a spot in the semi circle that was forming around the blaze. Some people stood while others sat in small circles and chatted animatedly. A few even had small instruments like harmonicas and one guy had an acoustic guitar. He would stroll around through different parts of the main clearing, singing a song they didn't recognize of which Tori guessed was an original. He passed by them and sang with a smile, nodding his head as he continued on toward the tent city to serenade the sleepy people that didn't feel like coming out. The girls stood facing the fire until they heard footsteps coming close behind them.

"This place isn't too bad, huh?" asked Dom.

"Yeah it's pretty cozy actually" said Tori. "How long do you plan on being here?"

"I'm not sure. Gotta rest up a bit and heal from this beatdown and then I'll evaluate the situation then."

Marie glanced around casually to try and spot anyone that was looking at them like they were out of place, but she didn't see anything and it eventually calmed her down enough to believe that no one in the camp had any suspicions of them or their plan. "Well I hope you get better soon. Those bruises look like they hurt like hell."

"Thanks, you should see the other guy though" said Dom.

Tori couldn't help but smile and she felt good when she realized it was contagious. Soon enough the whole group was smiling and laughing again, something which felt like years since they had done. It had only been a couple days since they were safe and secure in Wanagi, on the road back to a normal existence, but it felt like a thousand lives of man sometimes.

"Diana, you should have heard when I first asked Tori about you."

Tori blushed immediately and she shot a glance at Marie. "You be quiet, you."

"Oh really now" said Diana. "And why is that?"

"She let it slip on the phone that there was a new 'her' and when I asked for details she shut me down so fast it couldn't have went better if we planned it and acted it out on a stage." Marie smiled hugely and Tori grabbed a handful of grass to throw at her.

"I'm glad that you find me being nervous so hilarious Marie" said Tori. "You just better not forget that we've known each other pretty well for a while now, and I have some stories about you I can tell."

Marie's smile dropped and she suddenly looked horrified. "Hey now, I was only poking fun because Diana's actually here. You leave my stories out of this."

"Oh I get it, it's only okay for you right?" Tori teased, tickling the spot behind Marie's right earlobe that made her twitch until she stood up and backed up a couple paces.

"I'm so gonna get you for that" said Marie.

"Looking forward to it" said Tori.

Dom sat back and watched the girls interact for a while, happy in the moment that they could let loose and blow off some steam, if only for a little bit. Tomorrow was another grind, and another step closer to the endgame they were working for. The night sky thickened with the absence of the sun and the air finally cooled off, allowing people to head back to their tents to get some sleep for the repeat play in the morning.

"I'm gonna hit my tent and get some sleep, it was nice to meet you guys" said Dom.

Tori stood up and reached out her hand to shake his once more. "Nice to meet you too, Dom. Catch you in the morning."

"Sure thing."


	6. Chapter 6

The community the group had landed in wasn't as strict as Calloway's, with most people getting out of their tents around nine o'clock. Dom was pleased that he wouldn't be up to the sound of a siren at six like he had been the day before, but if he was honest the strict regiment was something that could have helped him stay in character. He crawled out of his tent and met the sun with squinted eyes, not prepared for how bright it was in the clearing. About half of the tent city was already open for business with people trading things like safety pins for fruit or toilet paper for weapons. Curiously the council of the faction didn't find it necessary to strip people of their weapons, something that both reassured and worried him. It looked like the council wasn't interested in dictatorship but it allowed someone who was upset enough to use deadly force. _The good with the bad_ he thought.

Tori and the rest of the girls were already awake and were towards the center area where a couple vendors were giving out certain foods for free and trading for others. Tori had a piece of a cardboard box with some watermelon slices on it, which Dom noticed was in the small trades area. He smiled at her when he approached and she pointed to a few stray band aids on the table as her trade for the fruit. She offered him a piece but he nodded slightly in refusal.

"I'm okay, you eat it."

"You have to eat Dom" said Tori. "If we're going to be at our best we need to stay healthy."

"I suppose you're right but you traded fair and square, I'll get something off the free part."

Tori rolled her eyes but couldn't help but crack a smile at his chivalry. He wandered over to the other side of the setup where a sign said 'Free within reason' and checked out what was available. It looked like it had already been hit pretty hard and all that was left were a few pieces of stale bread and a lemon. The woman behind the stand, who was a little on the heavier side and wore a ton of makeup, took a look at his face and considered him for a moment, then reached behind the sign and handed him two fresh pieces of cinnamon raisin bread.

"You look like you could use this."

"That's very generous of you" said Dom, gesturing to the free pile. "I'm okay with this though, if you want to save that for someone with a trade."

She held her arm out firm with the bread in her head. "Eat."

"Yes ma'am."

He tore into the food and forgot where he was for a second, with the rush of sugar and flavor going straight to his head. Half way through the second piece he tore some of it off and handed it to Tori, who accepted it immediately. He knew she had a 'sweet spot' for sweets and it felt good to be able to make the others happy.

"So first you refuse my fruit and then you give me sweets" said Tori. "You always were too nice for your own good."

"I always get kickbacks somehow" said Dom. "I'm not dead yet and I have some of the best friends a guy could ask for, so I'd say I'm pretty lucky."

"Do you know what you're doing today?" asked Diana as she approached the two of them with a cup of water.

"Not sure" said Dom. "I was told yesterday they would want me to rest for a day before I go anywhere but I need to get moving ASAP."

Tori checked around them before she continued. "Do you already have a plan?"

"I have orders yeah, and I need to get on the fishing crew to carry them out. Do you know anything about that?"

"I didn't even know they had a fishing crew" said Tori. "Did they tell you that?"

"Calloway's scouts have seen these people fishing in the river between here and the north edge of the city. I passed it on my walk here."

"Well when you talk to someone about whether or not you're okay to work ask them what jobs are available and if they mention it go from there, if not ask them if there's any water around because you're a good fisherman, having gone with your dad and brother a lot."

"Sounds good" said Dom. You guys get out of here, go do what you're supposed to be doing and we'll meet up later."

The girls waved and set off toward the medical tent for whatever jobs they were given, and Dom realized he wasn't really sure what to do. He spotted Gill's tent again so he decided to ask him what was going on since he would probably be one of the first to know. Gill was outside working on the garden still when he approached. There were two buckets at each end, one with soil and one with water for two rows. Gill alerted to his presence and shoved the hoe he was holding into the ground, standing up slowly as he did before.

"Can I help you, son?"

"Actually yeah. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing. I heard the doctor say I should rest for a day before I do anything strenuous but I don't really like to sit around and do nothing, so I was wondering if you had any jobs for me."

Gill seemed to like the fact that Dom had a work ethic and it showed in his enthusiasm. "Sure thing. We're running a little low on wood for the fire so you can take to the woods and pick up some steady fuel."

"Got it" said Dom. "Anywhere around here is fine to take from I'm guessing?"

"Yep, and it stocks in the shanty to the left of the pit."

Dom backed out of the garden with a courtesy wave and pointed towards the treeline. As he walked through the beginning of the line into the thicker trees he though of how simple of a job that was compared to the work that was still to be done on the whole. It wasn't like what they experienced was a big riot or something, where it burned white hot for a day and then damage control was dispatched to settle everything down. They had experienced losses on a massive scale, everything from bodies to supplies and everything in between. Getting the country running again would take years, if they could find enough common ground together to make it happen. Power didn't really exist anymore and that meant the internet was down. Radio was spotty at best and factories had closed down which meant no one was creating any new products. The whole country was in disarray so he could only imagine all of the imports had stop coming in pretty quickly. There was going to be a major cleanup effort to move and bury bodies and get rid of derelict cars. A whole lot to do and not a whole lot of people to do it.

On the other hand, he couldn't keep himself from thinking that where they were was their own fault, and it was probably for their own good. Over industrialization and the transition of high technology into the home had made people lazy and completely transformed their ways of life. No one appreciated hard work or the written word anymore, but now they had no choice. If you wanted the news you had to find someone who had been to where you wanted to know about and get it from them directly, which meant interacting with people face to face again. If you wanted to tell a friend something you had to tell them in person or write it down on paper, much like passing notes in school. It was either work for your keep or you didn't get anything. Luckily he and the others weren't afraid of getting down and dirty; it meant they would usually always have a spot in any group that was adamant on making their survival work.

The woods were pretty bare in the first tenth of a mile or so but as he continued on he found more suitable areas. He was looking for branches that would burn for a while and maybe even a log or two. Coming back with a good haul was meant to show the council that he was a hard worker and he didn't slack when it came to the comfort of everyone, not just himself. Showing the leaders of a group that you can forget about yourself was the quickest way to get in their good graces, and that's exactly what he needed to do. He tried not to think of what would happen if they somehow found out that he was working both sides, even though he was actually working in their favor. Selling that story would be hard for anyone, especially someone that wasn't really practiced enough to be comfortable in that situation. No matter what, though, he was going to have to break away from the group at some point to go back to Calloway to keep the facade up, and he still wasn't sure how he was going to manage that either.

An hour had gone by and Dom had quite an armful of decent sized branches so he turned back to drop off the first load. Back at camp a wheelbarrow had manifested in the spot next to the shanty where the wood was stored and when he dropped it off he looked around to see who might have left it there. Gill was coming out of the medical tent and when he laid eyes on Dom he put his thumbs up to signal that he was okay to use it, so Dom grabbed the handles after a quick wave and headed back out into the sticks. The morning went by quickly and by the time people were crowding around for lunch he had already stocked the wood pile enough for a few days' use. Gill gave him the OK signal while he talked with another man Dom hadn't seen yet, and when their conversation was over the new man headed in Dom's direction. He wasn't very tall and his build was very lean, hinting that he was probably teased for being small as a kid. His long brown hair hung around his jaw and he had a tattoo of an anchor on his neck.

"I see you're healing" said the man.

"Yes sir." He stuck out his right hand and wiped sweat off his forehead with his left arm. "Dom."

"Cletus."

Dom almost laughed and was tempted to look around to see if anyone saw.

"Kidding, I'm Gerry."

"Nice to meet you Gerry" said Dom. "Are you one of the council members?"

"Sure am. I own a good chunk of this land we're on now." He looked around and shrugged. "Well, I suppose I _did_ own it when things worked that way."

"It's nice land, really lush and giving." Dom gestured to the wood pile and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah but it's not the scenery that interests people" said Gerry. "It always comes down to control."

"Sir?"

"Eh, its nothing. You've done a good job here, get yourself some water and find something to eat."

"Yes sir. Before you leave though, I was wondering what other jobs there are to do around here, since I'm done with the wood and all."

Gerry gave him the same look Gill did when he first asked about work. "You a mechanic?"

"Not really but I might be able to squeak by on a few small things."

"What about hunting and gathering?"

Dom felt the second piece of the puzzle about to click into place. "I'm a pretty experienced fisherman and I know a bunch of knots."

"Alright then we'll get you in touch with Chet after lunch."

"Thank you sir" said Dom.

Gerry waved and headed off towards the medical tent and Dom decided to see what was up for lunch. The same tables were set up that were around for breakfast, including the same people, but a couple different options. Fresh veggie sandwiches were available for trade and the free table had a large container full of excess veggies that you could eat loose-leaf. He grabbed a couples slices of cucumber and celery stalk before nodding his thanks to the providers and heading off to his tent. It was always a good idea to get out of the sun for a little bit while eating to help the body regulate temperature and he needed to be on top of his game if he was going to scout out the area correctly and form a plan.

A few minutes into his rest tent-side he heard Marie's voice going on about cute French soldiers. Marie talking about boys was nothing new but she had a renewed interest in it since Cora came along, finally having someone that could relate to her in that department. Tori always humored her and would join in on the conversation but Dom could tell that even under the best friend niceties there was a little bit of a repetition strain that kept her from being too involved. It happened, though, even between him and Matthew. Even best friends have big differences.

With the refreshments gone and beginning their digestion cycle he stared out the side of his tent, watching shadows move and morph into different shapes as the afternoon sun crested and continued moving across the sky. He watched a shadow grow closer and larger until it stopped right next to him, and Tori's smooth clear voice chirped "Knock knock!"

"Who's there?" asked Dom.

"Your best friend ever" said Tori.

"Come on in."

She unzipped the tent door and crawled inside, turning to zip it back up again to keep the bugs out. Even for a one person tent it was pretty roomy so she had plenty of space to stretch out next to Dom. They laid on their backs and watched the shapes continue to move outside of the tent, scurrying about to complete some task or another like the whole Conflict hadn't even happened.

"What do you think we would be doing right now if this hadn't happened?" asked Dom.

"Well it's what, Thursday? I'd be at the record store with Matthew, Marie would be at the coffee shop, and you would be in your office. I don't know where Diana would be, or Cora for that matter."

"How do you know it's Thursday?" Tori didn't answer so Dom lifted himself up on his elbows and looked over, seeing her on the edge of tears. "Tor? You OK?"

"Yeah" said Tori, taking a deep breath before clearing her throat. "Ralph had a calendar at the produce stand and we had this little joke that we would be the new timekeepers of Wanagi." She looked sad, like she had lost an old friend. "I know he didn't have a lot of time left but it really sucks that he has to spend it like this, after everything he's gone through in his life. I probably won't ever see him again."

Dom reached over and helped her up so he could pull her into a hug. She squeezed tight and he felt a few teardrops soak into his shirt. They stayed still for a few moments until Diana came up to the tent looking for Tori.

"I hope everyone's decent, I'm coming in" said Diana.

Tori hiccuped loudly and laughed into Dom's shoulder and Dom suppressed a giggle of his own. Diana opened the flap and got half way in before she realized that Tori had been crying and she suddenly felt guilty for interrupting.

"I can come back-"

"No" said Tori, reaching out to grab her arm. "Stay. I want you here."

Diana smiled hugely and sat down so the three of them were in a loose triangle shape. Tori blotted her eyes with the bottom of her shirt and then took Diana's hand in hers and linked their fingers together. Dom liked seeing Tori happy, especially since she had put off finding happiness for so long to concentrate on everyone else's pursuit. Tori caught his eye and mouthed a silent thank you to which Dom replied with a single wink, a move from Dom that Tori knew to be genuine and full of compassion.

"Oh I forgot" said Dom, "I got on the fishing detail."

"Good" said Tori. "Do you need any help from us to do what you need to do?"

"I don't think so. I want my actions to be far away from you guys in case I get implicated in something. I don't want any of this falling you."

Tori knew Dom well enough that she couldn't argue with him. "OK, but if you change your mind we're here."

"I know, and I appreciate it. Also, I wanted to ask. Who runs this place, like who's really in charge?"

"I heard someone talk about a guy named Gary" said Diana, "saying he was going to talk tonight and we should all be around for it or something."

"Interesting" said Dom. "We'll have to be there for that."

Diana yawned and quickly covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Dom and Tori both smirked and got up, stretching their arms behind their backs to get ready to head back out. When they bundled around the tents Marie and Cora had come back from wherever they were hanging out but Sarah was missing.

"Where's Sarah?" asked Tori.

"Oh, she's helping Paula sort out clothing into sex and age piles to make it easier for people to get what they need" said Cora.

"OK guys I'm out of here for a bit, I'll be back tonight" said Dom. He saw the look on Tori's face before he walked off so he gave her another hug and held her at arm's length. "I'll be careful, I promise."

A few guys had gathered near the trail to the outhouse to group up and head out. One of them had an actual fishing pole while the other two makeshift poles made out of sticks and what looked like shoelaces. The youngest guy had a tackle box that was full of live worms, no doubt dug up near the riverbed, and two buckets by his feet. The assumed leader of the group noticed Dom approaching and guessed who he was based on the still healing wounds on his face, so he waved him forward and grabbed his things. The man was about the same height and build as Dom but not as strong-looking and about ten years older. He had the look of a studious man about him, like he was probably a professor or some kind of scientist before the Conflict.

"Dom, I'm Chet."

"Nice to meet you sir" said Dom.

"Likewise. Let's get a move on, we need to maximize daylight."

Dom grabbed the buckets and together they set off. They hiked through the woods the opposite way Dom had come in until they reached the smaller clearing where crossing the river was possible. He searched around the area to try and make out the tree that Giana had mentioned but he didn't see anything resembling it at first glance, so he dug into the task at hand and got started. Inside the tackle box was fishing net that had metal handles on two sides where the bottom could be curled under to form a sort of parachute. The area of the river they were in was just south of some rapids so the fish should abundant enough to catch in groups. He set about 100 yards down river from where the other guys were fishing to use a directional tactic for the net and by the time he stopped he caught a glance of a tree that looked like it could be the one he was looking for. Problem was, it was on the other side of the river, and there was no way to cross where he was without swimming.

An hour into the trip had landed him four good sized river Trout that flailed wildly in the bucket while they waited to be gutted and cleaned. Dom kept an eye on the other guys and how they operated during the trip so he would know what to expect next time when he actually had intel to pass on. It was important that he gave Giana something useful so they didn't think he had flipped but he didn't want to give them something so solid that people could potentially die. He didn't want that on his conscience. He had read a book once on the art of Spying and while he understood the nature of give and take when it came to state secrets and actionable intelligence, he never really felt the hugeness of it on a real scale, and he was afraid to admit that it freaked him out. Naturally being in that position would freak anybody out that wasn't properly trained, but there was no room for failure so he had to check his fears at the door and continue on with his mission.

After watching the fish for a little while he noticed that depending on how far the fisherman cast their lines into the river the fish would either be closer or further away from him, until eventually they seemed to catch on that if they switched lanes they would hit the net. It was fascinating to him how fish, while being seen as dumber than most animals by a lot of people, seemed to adjust to the flow of what was happening around them. It reminded him of how people adapted to the situations around them and that was what they were currently doing that very moment; adapting. Something massive had happened and instead of laying down and dying they changed their tactics and persevered. Survival of the fittest so they say, put to work on the largest, realest scale possible.

Once his bucket had close to two dozen fish in it, about three hours into their trip, the sun was beginning to go down steadily. They had a four mile hike back to the camp with heavy buckets so he figured they would want to get going soon and pulled in his net. He went through different plans in his head as he walked back, wondering what the best way to get him across the river would be without causing suspicion. He thought of the way the fish moved and decided he would put that info up and see about trying to find a way to anchor the net in the center of the river and have him fish on one side while someone else fished on the other. The others were packing up when he rejoined them and Chet seemed pleased at his bucket.

"Nice job, looks like we'll be eating well tonight" said Chet.

"Yeah it was pretty solid out there" said Dom. "I was thinking though, when I watched the fish they move in a pretty specific pattern. So maybe what we could try to do is anchor the net in the middle of the river and have one of us fish on each side, that way we maximize our gains."

Chet considered the proposal for a minute and shook his head with curiosity. "Sure, we can give that a shot. You make it work and we'll see how it goes."

Dom felt the third piece of the puzzle lock in and with his catch in tow he trekked back to the campsite with a good feeling in his chest.

Back at the camp Tori had been working with Paula on organizing the clothing and setting aside what needed to be washed. They had struck it pretty rich in laundry detergent at one of the stores in the city during the beginning of the Conflict so they were set for a while in that department, one of the things that helped keep their group so upbeat. Clean clothes were a thing that a lot of people took for granted in their everyday lives but now that it was more of a luxury than a necessity they realized just how nice it was. At Paula's there was a second tent set up on the edge of the tent block where the clothes and stuff for washing and transporting were kept and that's where Tori was doing most of her work. She took boxes in that Paula moved from the supply trucks to the outside of the tent and set them up on tables, then began going through the garments on by one and separated them to where they needed to be. It was busy work, sure, but it made their lives easier when someone came along that needed a little help. The faster you turn someone around the faster they can start contributing to the group.

The girls were separated mostly for their jobs as Diana helped the woman that ran the food tables at meals, who they eventually found out was named Marla, by organizing and storing the food that was distributed to the camp. Everything was packed the best it could be in salvaged Tupperware containers or in aluminum foil and stored in a tent that sat at the edge of the treeline in the shade. They didn't have any power so cooling was an issue, meaning they couldn't keep meat for more than a day and treats like ice cream were no more. Some of the grocery stores in the city still had a lot of things in them according to the supply runners, but it was mostly frozen stuff that had thawed and wasn't good anymore. That said, they still had plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables from the gardens being maintained by Gill and his helpers, Marie and Cora, and Marla used an old technique to make fresh bread in a stone oven built by the food storage tent. They were lucky that so many of the people in the camp had knowledge of how to do things without the use of modern technology, since if it was just the younger people they would be out a lot of the things they had.

The camp was a pretty well oiled machine that ran on all cylinders all day long, until the sun started to go down and lack of light forced people to stop working. A lot of people that would normally say they hated work and would do whatever they could to minimize their effort had done complete turnarounds and were some of the hardest workers in the camp. Everyone had their own reasons for doing what they did but Tori seemed to think it was because they were working for themselves now, not just turning a profit for their bosses. Pride in honest work was best enjoyed by people who were doing things for themselves, and a lot of the younger people were starting to learn that. They weren't confined to a kitchen, serving up food for corporate lawyers or CEOs on their lunch breaks. The Conflict and the eventual forming of the camp gave people a real purpose, a way to work for something that really meant a lot to everyone that co-depended on each other. Having a real purpose and seeing the gains from hard work was enough for most people to get some sleep and wake up prepared to do it again the next day.

While the people of the camp had all of the finer things covered Tori wondered what the council did for most of the day. Sure, it must have been a full time job making sure everyone stayed safe and fed, but they almost never saw any members of the council around the camp during the day, and at night they would only show up to do a walk around the campfire and say hi to a few people, then disappear back into their command tent. The command tent, the largest of all of them, was fitted with a huge American flag draped over the top that covered the roof and half of all of the sides. The material was thick so you couldn't see inside and the flap was always closed, so whatever they were working on in there wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone that could potentially wander by. Occasionally a guard would stop by the food area and request Diana to put a few things together for him to take to the command tent and she did as asked, but some of the others that saw the good stuff going into the tent couldn't help but feel a little irked that council got to indulge while skipping out on the hard labor. No one wanted to say anything though, since they weren't sure if challenging the council would get them kicked out or not, and being a part of a big group was better than being outside of it.

Tori finished unpacking the last of the boxes she had received for the day and carried them back out to the supply drop off. It was starting to get dark and the end of the day cycle was starting to gain speed. When the sun went down completely one of the guards would make a round and light stationary torches throughout the clearing grounds, large sticks that were implanted in the ground with old t-shirt tips that were dipped in a homemade napalm solution made with gasoline and styrofoam. They burned bright and lasted for a long time, which meant they were perfect beacons to help people navigate the trail to the outhouse and the lines in between plots in the tent city. She was heading back to her tent to grab a wet wipe from her pack and clean up from the day's work when she ran into Marie and Cora, who were standing idly as they watched the guard finish lighting the last of the torches.

"Hey guys" said Tori. "How'd you do today?"

"Not bad" said Marie. "The job is pretty hard work but it's not boring. You know me, I hate boring shit so if it sucked I wouldn't be doing it."

Tori couldn't help but smile.

"I used to help tend a small herb garden at the community center in Wanagi" said Cora. "I kind of had the basics down but Gill is teaching us what's what."

"Sounds good" said Tori. She was watching people crowd around the fire when she caught a glimpse of Faye. Diana wasn't around from work yet so she decided to make the trip over and get to know her girlfriend's friend a little better. "I'll be right back guys."

She walked from the tent city through the bit of clearing that led to the bonfire with her eyes set on Faye. Faye was engaged in a conversation with the guy she was at the mall with and another girl with long blonde hair but the sides of her head shaved. She was in mid-sentence when Tori reached them and when they made eye contact she held up a finger while she finished her thought. Tori stopped a couple feet away from her and Faye turned to give her her full attention.

"So, you're Diana's new friend, huh?" asked Faye.

"Girlfriend" said Tori. "Yeah. We met in Chicago."

"Girlfriend? I didn't think she actually swung that way."

"What do you mean?" asked Tori. She thought she saw Faye blush for a fraction of a second but it was gone as soon as it came.

"Well you know, we were best friends growing up so we went through the whole puberty thing together, and you know, we kind of used to practice kissing each other. For dates with boys and stuff."

She got the feeling of grief in her stomach, like she was mourning the loss of someone, or something, so instead of being jealous Tori had the image of a young Diana in her head kissing her friend because she was nervous that she would screw up with a boy when the time came. It was enough to make her smile. "Cute. Unfortunately I didn't have that kind of opportunity and my first girl kiss ended up really badly."

"That sucks" said Faye with an acute lack of subtlety. "So where's Di now?"

"Not sure" said Tori, "she hasn't come back from work yet."

"Well if you see her tell her that I'd like to catch up but the supply runners are being run ragged right now. This is the first time we've been back to camp since we dropped you guys off."

"When I find her I'll tell her to stop by your tent. Does she know which one is yours?"

"It's the second one in from the left, second row." The guy she was with tapped her on the shoulder and pointed in the opposite direction and then started walking away. "Alright, nice talking to you. I gotta take care of something."

"Sure thing" said Tori.

She watched Faye walk away with the still unknown man and then headed back to the other girls. Cora and Sarah were playing a mini game of tag while Marie sat cross-legged in the grass. Her face was illuminated by something and it caught Tori off guard since they hadn't seen a lot of electricity in the past few days. When she got close enough she realized it was an iPod and then the pieces fit together that she was going through Matthew's music. She decided to let her have a moment to herself and slipped into her tent as quietly as she could, but almost jumped out of her skin as soon as she poked her head in. Diana was already back, lying quietly on her side with her right leg propped up and crossed over her left. She sat up when Tori came in and looked through the tent flap to see if anyone was around, and when she was satisfied they were alone she took something from under her pillow.

"I've had some time to talk to Marla while we were working you know, and we filled each other in on pretty much everything in our lives." She handed Tori a box with a red ribbon on it. "She's a fascinating woman, and when she found out that me and you are together she was thrilled. Something about young love in the face of a crumbling future being poetic."

Tori examined the box for a second and then looked back to Diana. "What is it?"

"Open it."

She pulled the bow strings and let the ribbon fall to the floor before pulling the top off the box. Inside were nine individual gourmet chocolates, like someone would buy for their sweetheart on Valentine's day.

"Marla told me to take those and give them to you. I told her how much you like chocolate when she handed me the box and she was really excited for it."

"I don't even know what to say" said Tori. "This is...really great." She could feel butterflies of nervousness and a ball of heat swimming around in her stomach. "It's pretty amazing to me that with all this going on you still found a way to do something nice for me."

"I wanted to show you that we really appreciate you, all of us. When Dom split you assumed the leader role in such a natural way that I didn't even think about questioning it, which is weird for me." She laughed a little and pulled a caramel filled chocolate from the box. "I know it's a lot of pressure and you're really amazing for stepping up to the plate."

The chocolate pressed against Tori's lips really softly until she took a bite, and the caramel stretched until it broke off and landed against her chin. She scooped it off with her thumb and held it out to Diana, who took it between her lips and raked it off softly with her teeth. They both smiled quietly at the rarely tender moment shared between them and kissed lightly on the lips, then laid down on their sleeping bags. The work was hard, the days were long and the rewards were slim, but if they had each other at the end of the day, they both wordlessly agreed it was worth it.


	7. Chapter 7

They cuddled in next to each other for a few minutes until a loud whistle sounded from somewhere in the clearing. Tori sat up and unzipped the tent flap to look out when she saw people heading towards the bonfire. Diana followed behind her and the rest followed suit, including Dom. The man he had seen Chet talking to earlier in the day was standing by the fire facing a group of people gathering in front of him. Marla and Gill were at the front while Gerry and two other people stood next to the man they guessed was Humboldt. He was average height but very muscular and bore a similarity to Calloway himself. They both held themselves in the same manner, probably service training drilled into their blood. Tori and the group filed into the crowd and stood a few rows back and after a few more minutes the council decided everyone was present and began.

"I'm sorry I've been gone for so long" said the main man. "For those of you who are new and don't know me, my name is Jay Humboldt and I originally started gathering survivors to form this group a few days after the Conflict. Since then me and the rest of the council have been working tirelessly to come up with the blueprints to keep this place safe and running well." He paced back and forth in front of everyone with his hands behind his back. It looked like he was tired and trying to push through it, since the bags under his eyes were prominent enough to turn a shade of lilac. The other council members stood in place with their arms joined hand-in-wrist, covering their fronts. "Of course, it doesn't take a scientist to understand that supplies are running out. We may be flush now but it's not going to last, and the easily accessible stores are running dry. We're not the only ones out there looking for sustenance, and eventually we're going to start having to travel further and further to get the things we need until there simply is nothing left." The last part pained him to say and it was evident in the way he held his arm over his stomach. "We're doing the best we can to work out plans for more long term sustainable options, and in the mean time we ask that everyone be patient and try to use as little as possible. We want to stretch this as long as we can."

After that Jay stepped back to the line and Gerry took his place up front. The people were nodding their heads and whispering between each other, no doubt wondering if Jay was feeling good enough to running the place. He looked exhausted but Dom felt for good reason; running something like this would be a chore the magnitude most likely none of those people had ever experienced. Gerry started talking about the state of the land and warned against people going off on their own to try to hunt small game. Some of the more outdoorsy people didn't really like the fact that they weren't allowed to fend for themselves but Gerry explained it as a security precaution. Whatever was procured was for the group if you were part of it, that way everyone had a better chance of getting what they needed. Dom listened to the talking for a few more minutes but he couldn't help but turn inward at the nagging in his head about Giana and getting information. He knew they would be casing that tree soon enough, looking for some kind of message from him on the supply runners, and if he didn't have anything for them they would be wondering what his status was. He didn't want anyone to think he had turned and have them come looking for him, or expose him as a double agent to the camp. The people around them were close enough that if he tried to say anything they might hear so he thought for a second and came up with a plan. Cora was standing in front of him so hooked his index fingers into her belt loops and pulled her back into him, wrapping his arms around her waist. She gasped a little bit and he nuzzled his face into her neck, making it look like a lover's embrace.

"Act natural" he whispered softly into her ear. She covered his hands with her own and leaned her head to the side to give him more room. "I need to leave camp for a while so I'm going to pretend I don't feel good and sneak through the treeline to get out. If I don't make it back by sun up and they realize I'm gone say I headed for the river to go for a swim or something to clear my head." She nodded to convey that she understood and he squeezed her a little tighter as a goodbye hug. When he let go she turned around and kissed him on the cheek which brought attention to them from the people standing closest.

"Feel better babe" said Cora.

"Thanks."

He headed towards the tent city and looked up at Gerry as he passed, who waved mid-sentence and Dom waved back. He looked around and noticed that as soon as he cleared the crowd they had already forgotten about him so he made a line for the tents, cutting left when he was in the dark. The treeline wasn't very far and by the time he was in the cover of the trees Gerry had started on the topic of the garden and it's spoils. Tori looked worried and confused and Cora stared straight ahead, stone-faced. The night sky was particularly dark with the new moon so under the cover of darkness he headed toward the council tent and waited outside for them to come back.

After another half hour of the meeting Jay and Gill returned to the council tent together with Gerry a few paces behind them. Dom was under cover of darkness and with the added thickness of their tent they couldn't see out anyway. He crept as close as he dared to the tent and listened hard for any information he'd be able to pass on to Giana.

"-don't think it works that way, Gill" said Jay, entering the tent mid-sentence. "You know as well as I do that the city is pretty much bone dry already and we've been out there every day for the past week."

"We need to keep going south" said Gill. "The only way we're going to keep the peace around here is to keep providing. The second people start going hungry we're going to have a problem."

"I know that, don't you think I know that?" Jay was irritated and Dom could detect a hint of fear in his voice. "These people are all well aware of Calloway and his ability to treat his soldiers to pretty much whatever they want and if we fuck this up they're going to flock to him like flies on shit."

"Now I think we need to give these people a little more credit" said Gerry. "This land is fertile and will provide, we just need to proper tools to set it up and to stay stocked until we start building a surplus."

"We don't have the luxury of waiting for mother nature to take her fucking time pushing food up from the ground, Gerry" said Jay. "We need to do something else. And soon."

Dom held his breath in anticipation of any plans they were about to discuss. Everyone in the tent was silent and then the sound of rustling papers came through the tent walls. Jay sure was a different person in private than when he spoke to the people. He wondered if anyone else besides the council members knew what he was really like. The paper shuffling stopped and Dom got on his stomach, then army crawled a couple paces closer to the tent.

"Is the information we have good?" asked Gerry.

"I sure as fuck hope so. We just got it a few days ago" said Jay. "I say we act on it."

"Are you out of your damn mind?" asked Gill. "We don't have the people or the firepower to take on Calloway's men. The only reason we're even here right now is because he lets us be. If they came here in force they could wipe this place out in under twenty minutes with marginal casualties."

"Yeah, and if we just sit here forever like tamed dogs he's going to actually do that one of these days and take what we do have. We need to go take what _he _has so he sees that we aren't a bunch of pushovers. We have mouths to feed, too."

"You're gonna get people killed, Jay" said Gerry.

"We're already dying."

The tent got quiet again and Dom heard the flap open and close. Gill was heading back toward his tent at a brisk pace, no doubt upset over the way their meeting had went. There was a line somewhere that had to be drawn between what the people in charge are willing to do to keep people safe and what they need to do to secure the things their people need, and it was rare that everyone agreed on where that line should be. Dom stayed in his spot, hoping to hear any more chatter about an attack and when it didn't seem like it was going to come he got up to leave. As soon as he was on his feet he heard the unmistakable sound of a cork being popped.

"Is the supply crew still out?" asked Jay.

"No, they came back earlier" said Gerry. "They're taking a break for a day since they said Area One is totally cleaned out and Area Two is just about the same."

"Alright then, make sure everyone is armed. We're gonna set up a team and scout tomorrow night and if we spot any of Calloway's convoys we'll hit 'em hard. Those bastards deserve it."

There was a quick pause and when Gerry spoke again his voice sounded further away, like he'd turned to leave. "They're just trying to survive like we are, at the heart of it."

"Those fucking people are not like us."

"You keep saying that but I don't know who you're trying to convince" said Gerry, and with that Dom heard the sound of the flap again.

There was a certain nervousness about heading into the woods alone, in the dark, with no firearm, but he couldn't afford to draw any more suspicion to him than he was already in danger of doing by getting caught out by himself. He had a hunting knife that Tori had given him, a present that she'd found in an abandoned car, and that was going to have to suffice. He had kept a folded up piece of paper, a broken pencil piece and a thin twist-top flashlight in his pocket since he had arrived at the camp in preparation of this moment. It wasn't easy getting around with the new moon and the thickness of the woods but he didn't dare use the light until he was at least a mile from camp. There was a guard patrol at all hours, so even though most of the camp would be sleeping there would still be a few guys with guns wandering the perimeter.

The trip was very slow moving and he didn't end up reaching the river until the moon was starting to retract in the sky. When he made his way down to the riverbed it was still too dark to see clearly and the sound of rushing water made him nervous. Without a visual on any rocks for potential handholds the risk of crossing was greater than it would normally be, but he had no choice. It took all of his courage to wade into the water but as soon he hit waist deep he dove in, swimming as hard as he could against the current to get to the other side. He reached hard and when his hands started to rake sand under the water he pulled himself up and hopped out quickly. There was no way to be sure where he was along the river without light so, going against his gut, he turned the flashlight on in the clearing next to the riverbed and tried to find his bearings. He was about a quarter mile up the river from where they had fished that afternoon, which meant he was maybe half a mile or so from the tree. When he reached the tree he pulled the folded paper out of his pocket and pressed it against the tree to flatten it out, then blew on it and waved it through the air to help dry it off quicker. As he thought of what to write a quick, sharp whistle sounded from somewhere in the trees.

Now on high alert Dom froze in his spot, wondering if he had really heard what he thought he heard and if maybe it was just the wind or an animal. It was quiet for maybe thirty seconds before the whistle happened again and then he was sure someone was out there. But where? Was this person, or possibly persons, friendly? There was no other way of finding out than interacting with them, so he decided to play it cool in the beginning.

"Is someone there? I'm unarmed, come out so we can chat."

There was a rustling in the trees closer to him now and his heart thudded in his chest.

"I was just out for a swim to clear my head. Maybe some talking would be nice."

"You're tellin' me rookie" said a familiar voice. The person crept out from the bushes and met Dom next to the tree, and when he got close enough Dom realized it was Colin.

"Colin? What are you doing here?"

"We've had people watching this area every night for about five days now. We know they come here to fish and stuff and this is the most direct route to the city without taking that marked trail through the woods to the highway, so we get a patrol out here when the sun goes down to watch for any scouting groups to pass by." Colin shouldered his rifle and patted Dom on the shoulder. "Damn dude, good thing it's warm out here or you'd be in deep shit."

"I heard that"said Dom. "How's everything at base?"

"Like a well oiled machine, brother" said Colin. "You know how we do."

"Yeah, I do."

"Well since you're here obviously there's something going on, so what's good?"

Dom slicked his hair back so it would stop dripping in his face and started to wring out his shirt. "Jay and the other council members are talking about going on the offensive." He had a nagging suspicion that if he gave specific details and someone got hurt that he would have a hard time dealing with it, so he tried to dance around it as much as he could. "Tomorrow night he wants a team to scout the area by you guys and see if they can knock off a convoy of supplies going back to base."

"Tomorrow, huh? Why then?" asked Colin.

"I don't know. I excused myself from the meeting and sneaked through the woods to the council tent so I could try to get some info, and that was all I heard before they split up. I'm guessing they'll be doing the planning tomorrow when we're all busy with jobs."

Colin considered the info and nodded his head. "Too bad you couldn't get any details, but this is good. Calloway will dig it."

"I'm on the fishing detail so there's no way for me to be around them tomorrow to get the info and then find a way to get back out here without being suspicious."

"No worries dude, what you got is good." He looked around and up at the sky. "You should probably start heading back, it's getting light out soon."

"Alright. Give everyone my best."

"Will do brother. Be safe."

Colin headed back towards the warehouse district and Dom prepared to cross the river again. The sun was starting to poke over the top of the trees and a faint pink glow was fading into the darkness. He would have to hoof it back if he was going to make it in before the early risers started emerging to set up for the day. Whenever he had something difficult to do he got it done by reminding himself that it wasn't running laps in gym class, people's lives were at stake, and that included his family.

Once the pinkish dust of the sky started to brighten the woods were a lot easier to navigate and it raised his ETA by quite a bit. He was mostly dry by the time the clearing was in view but that threatened to change when was almost spotted by a guard. The sun was rising rapidly by that point so he had to make a decision fast, and he decided that stealth wasn't going to work. That meant he only had one other option, which was to walk up to the guards with his hands up. He started the walk up to the clearing line and by the time the guards noticed him he already had his arms up and was moving with a tactical side step.

"It's just me, Dom" he called out, hoping they wouldn't fuss with him too much.

"What are you doing out there, Dom?" said one of the guards.

"I couldn't sleep and I was feeling a little overheated so I took a walk to the river and went for a swim. I hope that's alright."

"You're not supposed to leave camp at night unless you're on a sanctioned mission, and I'll-"

"Chill out Grayson" said Manny. "Dom's cool."

At that moment Dom was extremely thankful for the kid that had first shown him around. "Hey Manny, how're you doin'?"

"Good, man, good. You feeling OK?" At that point the other guard walked away to go back to his post.

"Yeah I'm fine. I was just feeling a little queasy and warm last night when I left the bonfire and I figured the water would cool me down since it's still pretty cold."

"Cool. Next time make sure you tell me before you jet so I can cover you better. He might let it slip this time but if you don't give me an advance to wrap him up he might be a problem. Stickler for the rules and all."

Dom chuckled and slapped Manny on the shoulder. "Thanks for save, man. I owe you one."

"Get your blonde friend to go on a date with me and we'll be even." Manny held up an 'OK' sign with his hand.

"I don't think you could handle her, bud" said Dom, smiling wide as he walked back into camp.

Everyone was still in bed so it was easy for him to slip into his tent quietly and change into the fresh clothing he had gotten from Paula and Tori. Figuring he wouldn't be useful to anyone in his current state the plan was to play up the nausea thing and sleep for a little while instead of trying to stay up, that way if he got asked to go on the supply scout that night he would be ready. The only thing that was left was to have a powwow with Tori and Co. before knocking out for a little while.

He ducked out and moved quickly to Marie's tent, thankful that she was already awake and had seen his shadow approaching. She unzipped the flap from the inside and he nodded sideways in a motion for her to come out. As she yawned and slipped back inside to get her shoes he moved over to Cora's tent to grab her but she was still asleep, so he unzipped the tent quietly as to not scare her and poked his head in.

"Cora!" he whispered harshly. She stirred immediately and sat up so fast her eyes rolled backwards for a split second. He felt bad for scaring her but she came too quickly and calmed down.

"Dom, what is it?" she asked.

"We need to talk, get dressed."

Last but not least were Tori and Diana. He knew Tori was a light sleeper so she would probably already be awake and sure enough, when he approached their tent he could hear someone moving around.

"Tor, you awake?"

"Yeah."

"Get Diana and come out to the bonfire."

It took about five minutes and everyone was present. The birds chirped loudly and flies were already starting to amass in the stale heat of the morning. The dew that formed overnight during dropped temperatures created a heavy humidity in the post dawn clearing that made everyone sticky as they moved around. Dom checked over his shoulder to see where the guards were and if anyone else was roaming around then determined once he didn't see anyone that it was safe to talk.

"I sneaked out to the river last night to leave a message for Calloway's men. I heard Jay and the others talking last night about wanting to hit a convoy the way Calloway did to these people to get supplies. It sounded more like he was after revenge than helping us out, and I'm not sure he's fully capable of being a leader to this place."

The girls considered what he'd said and remained silent.

"They're leaving tonight to go look for places to hit, but I told Colin they're leaving tomorrow night. I don't want anyone to get hurt, and this way I can defend myself and say that maybe they had a system of saying wrong times out loud to prevent moles from getting everything correct."

"You talked to Colin?" asked Tori.

"I went to leave a message and he was at the drop waiting for me, said they have people watching the river at night."

"So what now?" asked Diana.

"We go about our business. I'll deal with the rest of it and hopefully it'll go smoothly but if not, stay alert."

Dom saw Marla walking from her tent to the food storage tent with plans to get started for the day. He motioned in her direction and everyone split up wordlessly with him heading back to his tent to catch some sleep. The events of that night swirled around in his head and he wasn't sure if he would actually be able to get any rest but it was worth it to try. No sense in going on a scouting mission with the intent of helping people stay safe if you're half asleep.

Tori and Diana went back to their tent to change and then get some breakfast. Marla had the first pieces of the setup configured and Diana made her way over to help out. They got the rest of the tables in place and started setting out food to the tune of bird chorus. Tori shielded her eyes from the rising sun and looked out toward the trees. The area they were in was certainly beautiful but she couldn't shake what Dom had said in their little meeting. Calloway's men could be anywhere in the woods, watching them, waiting for orders to storm in and open fire. They all stood around like sheep in a pen, unarmed and unable to fight back. She couldn't tell any of the council members though, since they would wonder how she came by the information first and foremost and that would mean giving up Dom's position. They could afford to have him be in jeopardy in two different camps, so she would just have to put the fear behind her and go about her business.

As more people started to emerge from their tents the work of the day got started. The clothing was mostly all sorted and folded so she wasn't sure what she was going to be doing until Paula came out to get some breakfast for herself. She waved at Tori with a kind smile and after she had grabbed some bread she approached her with the day's activities.

"We're going to be getting a few people together to wash some of the laundry" said Paula. "I had one of the supply teams take the two wheelbarrows and some buckets to get water from the river, and I'm going to try to rig up one of these tables into a makeshift water container to wash in."

"OK" said Tori. "What do you want me to start with?"

"There's a few boxes of dirty clothes by the tent that some people were throwing stuff into. Others said they would rather do their own laundry, which is sure as hell OK with me."

Tori nodded and laughed along. "I agree. I'll get the boxes and start moving, say over there?" Tori pointed to a far spot in the clearing by where Dom had gathered firewood a couple days prior.

"Looks good to me" said Paula. "I'll be over in a minute."

The boxes were pretty heavy and smelled bad, especially since a lot of the clothes that were in them had been there for about a week. In the spirit of conserving the things they had for as long as possible stuff like laundry was only done every week or week and a half, depending on people's situations. It was going to ramp up in the coming months, though, with the summer sun as scorching as it was out west. They were lucky in their positioning with all of the trees, tons of potential for shade and a lot of clean air. It was different than living in Wanagi since Tori was so used to the city, having lived in large metropolitan areas her whole life, but it had its own kind of charm that was definitely enjoyable.

Once all of the boxes were relocated she found a large stick and started to debark it with the knife she had grown accustomed to carrying. They would need something to stir the clothes with while they soaked and the stick she found was curved just perfectly to help distribute the stress of the job evenly. Paula made her way over as she was finishing and dropped the first two buckets of water off.

"I'm gonna get the other two buckets if you'll grab the tables and the plywood to set up the tub" said Paula.

"Sure."

The idea was to fit the plywood in between the legs of the table so they could flip it over and fill it up with water, since they didn't have any kind of tubs big enough to do actual washing in. The plywood didn't exactly fit but one of the supply teams had hit a hardware store early on and grabbed tools, including a hacksaw. When everything was brought back to the spot they worked together to flip the table over and line up the boards, mark where they needed to be cut and then Tori cut them to size. The table was an older wooden table that had decorative legs so there were pieces of wood that stretched down the legs, making the boards fit really well to create the walls. The first two five gallon buckets were emptied into the tub and detergent was mixed in to form a soapy layer of suds, then Paula got started on the actual deed. She would load and then prod with the stick, then let them soak for about ten minutes before rubbing them together by hand to help get out any dirt and sweat, then Tori and another girl she didn't know would hang them over a taught clothing line that could hold the weight of the wet clothes.

The sound of an engine broke the monotony of the work and a truck pulled out from the line of vehicles at the far left of the clearing. One guard was driving and when he pulled up to the bonfire another guard slipped into the passenger seat while Cora and Faye jumped into the bed. The truck pulled away down the marked trail through the woods and disappeared within a minute and Tori wondered where they were going, since she thought the supply jobs were done for a bit.

"Any idea where they're going?" she asked.

"Gill's been talking about needing a rototiller or some other thing for the garden work" said the woman Tori didn't know. "He said the garden we have is too small to sustain a growing number of people and making it any bigger would be too much work by hand so if I had to guess they're probably looking for another hardware store."

"Makes sense" said Tori. "I wouldn't want to do all that tilling by hand either."

They took a break a couple hours in when everything was done being washed before tipping the table over to dispose of the dirty water, then rinsed it out a bit and refilled it with the other two buckets of clean water for rinsing. The whole job took about four hours and by the time all of the clothing was hung on the lines Tori's arms burned with continued use. Paula seemed pleased with Tori's hard work and congratulated her on a job well done.

"This isn't the most fun job we could have but someone has to do it, and the people here really appreciate us for it."

"I bet, I know I would if someone else was doing it for me" said Tori.

"You won't have to do this all the time, though. We try to rotate people on jobs so nothing gets too mundane, you know. We want people to be happy and have fun with their work, that way it gets done faster and with better quality."

Tori got the feeling that Paula was kind of a hippie chick from the way she talked. It was less about what she said than the way it came out; she sort of had a long drawl to her words, like she had spent quite a few years of her life stoned or on acid. She was a really nice lady though, always full of smiles and positive encouragement for everyone around her. Tori was briefly reminded of her mom and how she always welcomed people into their home with open arms, even if she'd never met them before. The thought of her parents made Tori's stomach roll over on itself and tear threatened to well in her eyes. Since the work was done she excused herself from Paula and headed back to her tent, hoping to at least get inside where no one could see her before they spilled over.

Diana was off with Marla learning how to bake the bread in the stone oven the camp had built in the beginning and Marie was being taught by Gill how to identify sick crops and what to do with them. She hadn't seen Dom in a while so she assumed he was still sleeping and when she got to her she could see his was still fully closed up, meaning he hadn't gotten around yet. They may have had manual labor jobs but she couldn't imagine anything they did was harder than Dom's job. He had to maintain two different covers at the same time and make sure he kept everything straight, or else there was potential for him to be killed. Just thinking about being stuck in a situation where his cover was blown and he had no way to fix it gave her the willies, and it made her appreciate his situation even more. She crawled into her tent and laid down on Diana's sleeping bag, curling into her pillow and inhaling her scent. They didn't get a whole lot of time together but deep down she knew that Diana understood how much she cared about her, and vice versa. She wanted to think of some way she could pay her back for the chocolates but the hard work had tired her out so much that the scent of her girlfriend's hair and soft pillow had her knocked out in minutes.

Outside in the garden Marie had really turned a new leaf for herself. When she had first met Tori she was really vain, full of stereotypical narcissism and an almost OCD-like need to look good. She wasn't like the cheerleaders that you saw in movies, really nasty to others and constantly checking a mirror every five seconds, but she did make sure she kept herself up to a high standard. High school years were the worst, and she definitely let go a bit when she started working for a living, but it was nothing like where she was in the camp. She was barefoot in the garden with her pantlegs rolled up and dirt under her nails, and it didn't seem to bother her one bit. She had learned new things from Gill, learned how to see the world in a different light. He taught her about man's lost relationship with the food they ate and how before the Conflict everything was processed and artificially created. His words struck a chord with her since she worked at a coffee shop and sucked back her share of caramel frappuccinos full of sugar and artificial ingredients. He taught her that there was no greater feeling than being able to go out into your garden and pick fresh vegetables to make a salad with. Some people used to say that food someone else cooked for you always tasted better, but now that she was growing her own food, nurturing it from a seed to an edible product, she had to disagree.

The day carried on as any other until Gill gave her the go ahead to be done. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand waved, ready to find something to drink and relax for a little bit. When she returned to her tent Dom was standing in front of his, staring off into the distance while he ate a pickle. He heard her approach her tent and turned around, catching a smile from her. He smiled and waved, and in that moment he fully appreciated what his brother saw in her. She had an effortless beauty that didn't need the upkeep she thought it did. The way her hair waved naturally and the electric blue of her eyes were very endearing features, and her smile only made her more attractive. It was a different smile now, though, compared to before the Conflict. Matthew's death had really done a number to her, and it made him wonder how long she really had a thing for him before they got together.

The end of work detail spread around and people started gathering in the clearing again, standing around talking to each other about this or that. The truck with Cora and Faye in it returned to the camp with some gardening tools in the back and the girls hopped out with them in tow, headed for Gill's tent. He accepted them with great appreciation and put them inside while the girls headed for the bonfire. Tori had woken up from her couple hour nap when Diana came back from the oven and everyone gathered by the edge of the tent city. When Dom fell into place they headed out to the bonfire to get the news of the day from the people that had been out to the city and chat with the others on what they planned on doing around the camp. Gill was excited about expanding the garden while Paula, Tori and Rosie, the woman that had helped, were the talk of the camp for providing clean outfits. The groups around the bonfire buzzed with conversation as people enjoyed the small things they had acquired somehow, like chocolate or small game or even beer from the supply runners.

Chet made his way to the front of the bonfire and raised his arms up, then made a whistle with his fingers to call everyone's attention. Everyone in the area walked forward and quieted down so he could talk, and when they looked comfortable he began.

"When we get new people we like to kind of go around the fire and introduce ourselves a little bit" said Chet, and some of the campers started to smile. He pulled a painted stick out of his back pocket and held it up. "This is the talking stick. You don't talk unless you have it, you have to talk if you do. If you don't want to, pass it on." He looked around and tossed the stick to a brunette girl on the far right.

"I'm Addy. I'm seventeen, came down this way from Seattle with my brother, but he got killed in Denver." She smiled weakly and looked around for a second, then tossed the stick to someone else.

"I'm Dana. Thirty nine years old. I'm from down state a little ways, came up this way to hit some of the bigger cities to find fresh water. Ran into one of the supply groups and they took me in."

Tori watched as the stick got passed around from person to person. Some people had already been introduced before, but they more popular people of the camp, like Chet and Paula, needed to be reintroduced for the new people. Eventually the stick made it's way to Marie, and she held it between both hands with a strong grip before putting her arm around Tori's shoulders.

"I'm Marie. I'm nineteen, and I'm from Chicago, same as my friend Tori here." Everyone looked at them with smiles and kind waves. "The city got hit hard pretty fast with military so we thought it would be a good idea to get out. We traveled west for a bit until we hit a new city called Wanagi, us and Diana and Cora." She gestured to the others but made sure she left Dom out. "Everything was good for a while until Calloway shot up the city, killed a few people and basically took the foundation out in one blow. People scattered and we ended up here."

The good times were broken up momentarily when Jay and Gerry entered the fray, Jay armed with two rifles and three stocking caps.

"Dom" said Jay, making his way over to their group. He sidestepped over to him and talked quietly by his ear. "I want you and Manny to come with me on an excursion."

"OK" said Dom, "where are we going?"

"Not here" said Jay, looking around at the people watching them talk. "Do you know where Manny is?"

"I haven't seen him but I can help you look."

They combed through the crowd until Manny was spotted with two other guards near the medical tent. He heard their approach and looked behind him, turning with a smile when he saw Dom. "Hey Dom, what's shakin'?"

"You want to take a hike with us?" asked Dom.

Manny saw the rifles and hats they were wearing and instantly got excited about going on a real mission. "Hell yeah, where we goin'?"

"Let's head out before we talk" said Jay.

The campers continued to pass the stick and tell some jokes so they could get to know each other better while the three men headed towards the trail to the river and disappeared into the woods with many pairs of eyes on their backs. People whispered about what they might be doing but no one was sure except for Tori and the girls. They watched Dom heading out until they couldn't see him anymore then returned to their conversation. It was better to let it go instead of dwelling on it, since they couldn't do anything to help him and looking worried might give them away. Diana held Tori's hand leaned into her side, relishing in her ability to finally be able to relax together after a long day before Faye came in asking questions.

"Where are they going?"

"I don't know" said Diana. "Did you try asking them?"

"I didn't get a chance to, I didn't even see them until they were almost gone."

"Well whatever they're doing I'm guessing they have it covered since they didn't ask anyone else to go" said Diana. "Why don't you take a break for a night and hang out with us. We haven't talked in a long time, it would be nice to catch up and find out what each other's been up to the past year or so."

Faye looked at Diana with a confused, almost angry look. "Like that'll be easy to do around here."

"Tori knows."

At the mention of her name Tori turned her attention to their conversation and when she processed what she'd heard her heart slammed in her chest. She got a feeling of fear and something else from Faye that she couldn't put her finger on and Diana seemed to be worried.

"And how does she know?" asked Faye, her teeth clenched together.

Diana grabbed Faye's hand with her free one and pulled the two girls back a ways from the fire so they could talk without being overheard. "She caught me doing solo magic one day and there was no way I could talk myself out of it."

Surprised flashed over Faye's eyes so quickly that if Tori wasn't looking right at her she would have missed it. "You can do solo magic? How?"

Diana took a deep breath and kept her eyes on the ground. "I don't know, I guess it's because of my Balkoin blood. Technically the circle is still bound so I don't know how I can do it, but I just can."

"Interesting" said Faye. Anyway, we're here together now so if anything bad happens we can do magic together. As a last resort or something."

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that" said Diana.

Faye looked down at Diana and Tori's hands and Tori felt the feeling she wasn't sure of get stronger, and with the look on Faye's face she figured out what it was; jealousy. She remembered Diana telling her how she and Faye used to be best friends when they were growing up and now it seemed Diana had a new best friend. Tori knew she shouldn't feel guilty about it but she couldn't help it, especially with the feeling she was getting from Faye. She looked back toward the fire and saw Cora and Marie talking about something with another group of people around their age. It didn't even really occur to her before that there would be other people their age at the camp and they hadn't really seen any, which the halting of supply runs was the best explanation for. Diana and Faye were still talking so Tori squeezed Diana's hand and kissed her on the cheek, then left them for Marie and Cora so they could talk. As the sun sunk through the sky she caught a glance of the trail where Dom and the others had left through, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was going to come back in one piece.


	8. Chapter 8

The route to the river from the camp was starting to get familiar enough that Dom could walk it in his sleep if he needed to. He'd already done it basically blindfolded since it was so dark the last time, and this time was shaping up to be the same way. The sun was falling quickly and the signs of dusk were already taking their toll on the trio's movements. They stuck close to each other and moved as a unit, no doubt Jay was used to that and had probably helped teach Manny. When they would hear a noise Jay would hold up a fist as the sign to hold, then two fingers jutted out to the side meant to fan out and investigate. Most of the time it was just rabbits or squirrels in the trees, but given the state of their mission it would be dumb, not to mention risky to not take precaution.

As they moved Dom tried to go through different scenarios in his head to help himself come up with things to say if they got caught or if Calloway thought he was lying about knowing the right time of the attack. He and his men were always at the ready anyway, so he hoped that throwing them off wouldn't catch them so off guard that it would be suspicious. He knew Giana and Colin and the rest of the soldiers weren't naïve enough to believe that they were untouchable, but he wasn't sure if they were slack enough to allow him and his partners to pull off a heist and get away with their lives. Surely they would forgive him for being there since it was part of his cover, but how long would it take, and how hard would he have to work for that forgiveness?

They traveled silently until they got to the river, then Jay gave the round-up signal for them to fall in on him. They grouped off to the side of the man-worn trail in the cover of the trees, scoping the area ahead to see if any movement was visible. It was almost pitch black out so seeing anyone move would be lucky at best, so they huddled in to get the plan of action.

"We're going to cross one at a time" said Jay. "I'll go first, then Manny, then you, Dom. Got it?"

"Yes sir" said Dom and Manny at the same time.

Jay stepped out from the trees slowly, strafing right with his eyes on the other riverbank. He moved forward and waded into the water, turning a full three-sixty to look back at the guys who were waiting in the trees. With his rifle slung over his back he swam hard across the current and landed on the other side of the river after a few minutes, and Manny was on his way. He moved the same as Jay, slow and calculated, until he jumped in and swam across as well. Dom followed up and when all three of them were reset and ready to move, The second half of the trip was a little different since he hadn't been down that part in a few days and had only traveled it once, plus it was so dark they could barely see each other a few feet away. Jay obviously knew where he was going since he bobbed and weaved through the trees like a pro, getting them the other four or five miles in under two hours. They reached the road where it was significantly lighter out, and the sight before them was almost enough to make Dom throw up.

Two Humvees sat angled in towards each other with two soldiers for each truck. Jay halted them and tried to stay hidden in the trees, but one of the soldiers was urinating by the treeline and was close enough to hear them approaching.

"Stop where you are" said the soldier, his voice loud enough to rouse the rest of his patrol. "Guys, get down here."

Dom backed up and pushed Manny behind him as he moved, crouched low to the ground in case bullets started flying. He could feel his heart buzzing like a hummingbird's with each step he took. Manny was breathing hard behind him and Jay seemed frozen in place, but the soldiers in the open weren't moving.

"Come on out, no one needs to get hurt" said the same guard.

"No one's goin' anywhere, chief" said Jay. "So why don't you just back off."

"We can talk about this, but not from this angle. Put your weapons down and come out peacefully, and we can come to a deal."

Jay actually chuckled before he turned around and faced Dom and Manny, which set Manny a little bit on edge. He looked like he had never been in a situation like that before and while he was keen to go in the first place, he probably assumed that nothing was going to happen, which is always a bad idea. Dom kept scanning the area around them for breaks in coverage that they could use to fall back to, but they were seen too early to have any available moves. The soldier that did all the talking was under cover behind one of the Humvees and continued to demand that they lay down their weapons.

"The way I see it" he began, "if you're just normal, harmless people, you wouldn't have any trouble laying down your arms to talk to us for a few minutes now would you?"

"Who said we're harmless" yelled Jay, and with that there was some shifting among Calloway's men. It was too dark to see who was moving where but it sounded like they were possibly setting up to flank them.

"You're making this more difficult than it has to be. If you just-"

Jay shot two bullets from his rifle into the side of the Humvee the guard was behind to cut him off. As soon as the shots rang out Dom found another spot a few feet away from Jay and trained his rifle in the direction of Calloway's men. Manny laid flat on his stomach with his rifle point towards the right side truck opposite of the main soldier. Jay popped another bullet into the truck and then two of the guards on the other side started shooting into the trees. A branch split about five feet above Dom's head as he found cover behind a thick tree. Manny stayed flat on the ground and Jay moved up a few feet, his weapon still aimed at the truck. Calloway's men got in the trucks and drove forward a bit ducked down in the seats so they could get closer, then stepped out and stayed behind the cover of the vehicles. Manny took two quick shots and busted out a tire from the truck on the right, of which the loud bang from the air pressure made the soldiers behind that truck jump.

"We need to get out of here" said Dom. "They aren't going to let us go, not now."

"You're exactly right, they won't let us go" said Jay. He fired another round that Dom could tell hit glass but didn't shatter. "The only way we're getting out of this is if we kill them before they kill us."

Manny shifted his position and army crawled a few paces forward. Calloway's men were advancing on them, trying to circle in from the flanks to get around their sides. Jay fired to his left and the ricochet echoed through the trees. One of Calloway's men had made his way to the edge of the trees when he saw Dom's outline. He tried to lift his rifle to shoot but Dom was already aiming, and in that moment he exhaled and pulled the trigger. A pained scream tore through the night and then all three of the other guards started shooting at once. Everyone was playing it cool before, poking around to see where the enemy was hiding, but now that agonizing cry of a wounded man had sounded and it was a free for all. Manny and Jay fired back shot for shot and the man Dom hit fell to the ground. He stopped moving after a minute or two and the sick feeling in his stomach told Dom that he was dead. Another scream ripped through the air and this time it was Manny, who abandoned all restraint and turned his controlled shots into sprays of burst fire. Glass shattered and once the bullets stopped flying he could hear the pounding footsteps of Calloway's men retreating to the vehicles for cover. Each side had each other pinned down in the dark, the only difference was instead of a game of laser tag this was real war, with real bullets and real consequences.

Both groups were locked in a standstill for over twenty minutes until the roar of another engine sounded to their right. Another one of Calloway's Humvees screeched to a halt with its lights on, pointed right into the trees they were retreating to. The brightness caught Dom off guard and purple spots flashed behind his eyelids, making it impossible to see even outlines in the darkness in front of him. More shots shredded the trees near him and he ducked down even lower, practically crawling through the underbrush to find a bigger tree that was further away. The light gave away all of their movements and clearly showed a large pool of blood on the leaves Manny had been lying on. Manny had moved to where Jay was and the two of them alternated fire from two sides of a large oak, successfully pushing Calloway's men back to their vehicles.

"Who's out there?" a familiar voice called. Giana.

"You know damn well who we are" Jay shouted, anger dripping from his accusation.

"I'm gonna come forward, don't shoot" said Giana. "We need to talk about this before anyone else gets hurt."

She passed by the dead body, careful not to kick the soldier in the dark. There was only about twenty feet between her and Dom by the time she stopped, and he swore he could almost hear her heartbeat from where he was crouched, but then realized that it was his own thudding in his ears. He tried to think of a way that he could get them alone so they could talk, but with five other people around them, all shooting at each other, that was going to be nearly impossible. She took a few more steps forward with her hands in the air and Dom finally got the idea he was waiting for. He moved forward as quietly as he could, hoping that maybe Jay or Manny would move and get her attention to their side of the trees. The soldiers in the back stood still behind the cover of the vehicles, no longer shooting, for the moment, due most likely to Giana's orders.

"I have the ability to let you guys go" said Giana. "We knocked off one of your supply runs, true. I know you're upset about that."

"You're god damn right we're upset about that!" yelled Jay. " Giana turned to face him and Dom angled towards her. "Calloway has done nothing but kill and steal for the past three weeks and no one has even tried to stop him, no one until us!"

Under the cover of Jay's yelling Dom bit the bullet and jumped out from the trees, moving as fast as he could to get Giana in a full nelson so she couldn't move or fight back. She jumped at his movement and tried to reposition herself before he got to her but he was too fast, catching her around the wrist at first before pulling her in for the wrestling move. She struggled against him but he was clearly stronger than her in the upper body. He pulled her backwards toward the trees where he was under cover and the soldiers in the clearing changed positions.

"It's OK" Giana yelled, "don't fire."

"Jay, move out and take their weapons" said Dom. "If they don't comply shoot them."

Jay and Manny both moved out of their spots and headed to the Humvees with their rifles trained on the men behind them. With the distraction of his team Dom loosened his grip on Giana and turned them around.

"What the hell is going on, Giana?"

"You tell me hotshot."

"The intel that I got from Jay said this wasn't going down until tomorrow night, why were these guys even here?"

"Come on Dom, you're smarter than that" said Giana. "You know how this wartime thing goes. People lie and set false trails all the time. You never know who's listening."

They looked around to make sure the others were still busy with each other. Manny had taken the guns from the soldiers while Jay loaded all of them into one of the three Humvees. They cramped in and he slammed the door shut, taking out and lightning a cigarette he must have stolen from one of them.

"We need to ramp this thing up" said Giana.

"How?" asked Dom.

"They're coming back, put your game face on."

Jay looked pleased while Manny looked wild. His eyes shot back and forth as he held his shoulder, blood still seeping from it. He knew he had to get him back to camp ASAP or he was going to lose too much blood. Dom had a good grip on Giana that made it look like he was strong-arming her, but in reality she was comfortable enough that she wouldn't get hurt.

"Nice job Dom" said Jay. He looked at Giana with a curious expression. "What do you have to say for yourself"

"Well, Calloway's gonna be pretty pissed when he finds out his inside man gave him the wrong information, but he won't be too mad since we intercepted you guys anyway."

Jay smiled and shook his head. "Right, inside man. I figured such a juvenile tactic would be beneath you, Giana."

"You know her?" asked Dom slightly confused.

"Of course. She's one of Calloway's top Lieutenants. We make it a priority to know who's who in his ranks for exactly this reason."

"And we make it a priority to have a plant in every group we can" said Giana.

"If this man that has you in a chokehold is a plant of yours, why would you give him up?"

"Because he gave us bad information and we think he may have flipped, which by the way I'm being held right now I'm thinking is true."

Dom was even more confused and was starting to get scared. Manny looked like he had been personally offended by Dom's betrayal and Jay was starting to lose his resolve. Giana struggled against Dom again and broke free, turning around to face them all while Dom stared at the ground in shock. Jay pointed his gun at Dom and pointed at Giana so Manny would aim at her.

"Is this true, Dom?" asked Manny. "Is she right? You've flipped and want to help us now?"

"It doesn't matter" said Jay. "He fed them information once, there's no way he's coming back with us."

"I gave them the wrong information, on purpose" said Dom. "They wanted me to give them something but when I got here I saw how nice everyone in camp is and how it's about being together and I couldn't deal with anyone getting hurt, so I told them you were doing this tomorrow night." He was talking too fast and his hands shook as he spoke, but he tried to steady them the best he could. "I couldn't deal with the thought of anyone from camp getting killed so I gave them false intel."

"Coward" said Giana.

"She's probably lying anyway" said Jay. "It would be better for them if we split up, fought amongst each other."

"Lying?" Giana chuckled and pitted her tongue in her cheek. "If I was lying then how would I know your camp setup? Medical and meeting tents near the trail out to the river. Civilian setup in the back, bonfire in the middle. Storage and stone oven to the left."

Dom was floored. He didn't tell Colin any of those things, so how did she know? "So what? They could have had scouts in the area. She can't prove it was me that gave that information. Frankly I'd be more surprised if they _didn't _have that information, that's standard wartime intel."

"Alright" said Jay. "We need to get out of here before anyone else shows up but we'll discuss this back at camp. Manny, take her up and put her in the Humvee with the others, we're taking the other two back with us."

"You're letting them go?" asked Manny. "They wouldn't let us go."

All three of them considered the woman in front of them and she looked as resolute as ever. When Jay and Manny turned to each other she shot Dom a look, one that seemed a mixture of 'you'll be OK' and 'I'm sorry.'

"They shot one of us, we killed one of them. That's enough for one day."

At the vehicles Jay gave a set of keys to Manny for one truck and kept the other for himself. "Dom, you're riding with me." Dom got in and Jay went to the window of the truck with the soldiers in it. "We're gonna drive about a mile up the road and drop the keys for this truck off, so you can walk up and get them once we're gone."

"Thanks for that" said Giana sarcastically.

"Be sure to tell your boss that we did something nice for you."

The tension in the air between Giana and Jay was almost tangible. He looked at her with such a contempt that she smiled at him and Dom could only look on in silence. There was a certain understanding between the two of them when it came to doing what you needed to for your people, but of course stipulations of war were determined differently by different people according to what the present situation was when they needed something. Most people would like to claim that their morals were incorruptible, but countless events through history proved that even the most honest people were capable of terrible things in the face of extinction.

On the ride back to camp Jay was mostly silent until Dom yawned reflexively at the dark night sky.

"All that blabbing to the enemy got you tired, huh?" asked Jay.

"I told you what happened" said Dom.

"Well you should have come to me in the first place. We could have worked this out better if I knew what was going on."

"Right" Dom scoffed. "I show up at your camp out of nowhere and say what? 'Hi, I just left Calloway's faction and I'm here to be a double agent for you guys even though I don't know any of you.'"

"I suppose you're right" said Jay. "This is just complicated, that's all. How can I be sure you two aren't working together to play me?" The two trucks pulled down the pipeline service road and arrived at the camp in the early hours of the morning. Manny parked right next to Jay and got out with the guns he'd taken from the soldiers saddled on his shoulder. "How do I know you haven't told them anything else?"

"You just have to trust me I guess."

"Well I'm sorry but that's something I can't do."

Dom got out of the truck with a bad feeling in his gut and sure enough, as soon as Jay rounded the front he grabbed him and pulled his arms behind his back. The camp was still asleep so no one could see what was going on. Probably for the better. He stumbled forward awkwardly while Jay pushed him, his hands around Dom's wrists. Once they got to the main council tent he pushed Dom into a chair and told him to sit still, motioning for a guard outside the tent to come inside and watch him. He left and was gone for maybe a few minutes before he returned with rope he used to tie Dom's hands behind his back. The rope wrapper around the chair and pulled tight, making it almost impossible for him to move.

The inside of the tent was nicer than he expected it to be. It had pretty high ceilings for a tent, and nice animal skin rug in the middle of the floor. A large wooden desk sat off to the left of the entrance and had a field lamp and some folders on it. A map of the area, which looked like it had been ripped out of a Rand McNally, hung on the opposite wall of the desk and had different colored markings on it than it normally should. Dom studied it and realized they were marking territories, much like Calloway did with the map at the hotel. The guard tasked with watching him stood next to the entrance with his rifle in hand while Jay sat behind the desk and rubbed the space between his eyes gently. He looked like he was having a rough time still and Dom wondered if maybe he had some underlying health issues that was making his existence difficult.

"So, explain to me from the beginning" said Jay. "Where did you come from?"

It was a simple question really, but the answer he gave would dictate what happened next in the grand scheme of things, so he had to be careful what story he spun. Did he tell the truth about being with Tori and the girls, staying with Calloway for a while? Or did he leave them out of it and go with the original straggler bit? It was a tough choice but it boiled down to one thing; Giana. She was very clever and he thought she seemed to have some special training, like maybe she was FBI or something before the Conflict. She definitely carried herself in a professional manner and there was no doubt she was great at what she did, and that meant that whatever he did would have to pass her moreso than Jay. He wondered why she decided to give him up in the woods, what her plan could have been. He was confident in what she had taught him in counter-interrogation techniques, but he wasn't really thrilled to actually use them. That said, it seemed like the only way he was going to be able to be in a good position to keep helping the camp was to play up the victim and get out as soon as possible if it didn't go as planned.

"I was moving east from Nevada after my brother was killed in a riot that took out half of Reno. I eventually ended up in Denver with a few other people but that was when the fires started, and I got separated from the people I had been traveling with."

"Where did you meet these people?" asked Jay.

"Oklahoma City" said Dom. Even was he was impressed with himself for spinning answer so quickly.

"What were their names?"

He thought back and remembered the guys on the highway that had helped them get around the gas truck fire. "The older guy was Floyd, the younger guy, his son, was Jeff and the youngest kid was Jonny."

"What happened to them again?" Jay was watching Dom out of the corner of his eye as he took a seat on the edge of the desk.

"We had been there for two days when the fires were starting to spread. One of the buildings across the street from where we were squatting caught up and by the time we came back from the day's hunt it had collapsed on itself. Jeff tried to go back for the stuff they'd left in the building but the smoke was too much."

"So how did you get separated?"

"Floyd was old and didn't breathe very well, needed oxygen and such" said Dom. "The air quality got so bad that he could barely breathe at all, and he collapsed on the road on our way out of the city."

"So you just left them there?"

"No, I wouldn't do that." He felt like Jay was starting to make personal jabs to get him uncomfortable and potentially make him slip up.

"Then what?"

"Floyd ended up dying from smoke inhalation since his lungs were already bad and Jeff was devastated. He just couldn't seem to pick himself up so I tried to help him up to get him out of there. Jonny kind of looked at Floyd like a grandfather and when he died he was upset. Took off running into a crowd and I lost sight of him."

"You didn't try to look for him?" Jay adjusted his spot on the desk and checked his watch.

"Well like I said, I was carrying Jeff and I couldn't just drop him in the middle of the road. The kid was running away from the fire so I figured he would stop when he was clear and wait for us, but I never saw him again."

He tried to vividly picture the scene he had conjured up as best he could, to really feel the emotion he was fibbing about having felt. He remembered Matthew's face when he and Marie left the supermarket where Jonny and his brothers were, and part of him really did wonder where those kids were and if they were OK. Jay watched him curiously, as if maybe he would open up about something he wasn't supposed to any second. The guard stood straight with his eyes focused on the far wall, not even paying attention to their conversation. Jay took something out of a drawer in his desk, which turned out to be a pack of cigarettes, and handed one to the guard. The man took it as a dismissal and he left the tent with a quick nod.

The tension in the room started to rise and Dom was all of a sudden feeling vulnerable. He was in the tent all alone with this man that didn't seem like he was wound very tight, and who also seemed to think he was a traitor. He tried not to dwell on the fact that since he was tied up he would have to take any abuse that came at him in an attempt to get him to spill his guts, but it was hard to put that aside when all he saw when he closed his eyes was a fist connecting with his nose. The motion of rubbing his hands together behind his back made it so the knot loosened a little and with luck he was hoping to be able to wiggle free in a last ditch measure.

Jay took a seat in the chair behind the desk and pulled open the bottom right drawer, extracting a bottle of amber liquid Dom knew to be whiskey as soon as he saw it. Instead of pouring it into a glass Jay unscrewed the top and took a long drink right from the bottle, the kind of drink that screamed alcoholic, and it dawned on him that his mannerisms were indeed that of someone going through minor withdrawal symptoms.

"You know, since this whole shit show it's almost impossible to get a good drink" said Jay. "Just a couple months ago I had a pretty substantial bar tab though, so I guess you take the good with the bad."

"You do that a lot, drink?" asked Dom.

Jay looked positively malicious for a split second before his mouth curled into a smile. "I see, I see. You're the kind that pays attention."

"It doesn't pay not to" said Dom.

"Well not everyone thinks the way you do it seems. Now tell me," he stood up and took another swig from the bottle before sitting it down on the desk, "what happened to our dear friend Jeffrey?"

"I'm not sure. I got him out of the hot zone and set him down in an empty ice cream parlor since he wouldn't walk on his own or talk or anything. I was already feeling kind of weak from not having eaten in a while and with the air as bad as it was I couldn't afford the extra exertion of carrying him around."

"So you _did _in fact leave him behind?" asked Jay. His eyes were already starting to gloss a little bit in the jaundice-like glow of the camp lantern.

"If you want to be a dick about it, yeah, I did" said Dom. He was starting to get frustrated at the game Jay was playing and he wasn't going to let him run the show like that. "If you're done trying to bait me keep asking what you actually _need _to know so I can get out of here."

"And go where?" asked Jay. He took the few steps from the desk over to the chair where Dom was tied up. "Where are you gonna go? Back to Calloway? Cause you sure as hell aren't stayin' here." He turned his back and walked towards the tent's front, pacing for a minute before taking another drink from the bottle. "I can't trust you anymore, and I can't let you leave to go work against me with Calloway, you're too good of a catch for them."

"Look" said Dom, "after I left the city I wandered around for a little while, not sure where to go. Calloway had a supply team in the area that picked me up and offered to give me food in exchange for service. I was starving so I didn't even question them."

Jay looked at Dom like he was some kind of white trash monster. "So if you were helping them how did you wind up here with a fresh ass kicking?"

"I didn't like the way they operated. Stealing from anyone and everyone that they deemed weren't good enough to serve in their army. The way they showed blatant disregard for human life made me want to get out. But they're like a gang, blood in, blood out."

"So, what? You ran?"

"I told them I would be a double agent and feed them information if they let me infiltrate your camp. They knew you guys were on the lookout for moles so when I got dropped off they roughed me up to make it look like I had been jumped, to add to the sympathy factor."

Jay smiled and even laughed a little. "Clever bastards."

"When I got here I thought about just staying but I realized that it would work better to my advantage if I at least made it look like I was helping them instead of abandoning them altogether. That way if we got into a confrontation I might have a leg up on the situation."

"Well it seems to me like you have a strong survival spirit" said Jay. "Can't fault you for that I guess."

Dom continued wiggling his hands and the ropes were starting to loosen. He had rope burn all over his wrists and it was agonizing to feel the fibers sliding across his raw skin, but if it was a choice between healing for a week and dying, tied to a chair like a terrorist, there was no question. Jay seemed to be fighting with himself as much as he was fighting with Dom. He would take a drink and put the bottle down, pace for a minute and then take another drink. It was like he didn't want to drink but he had to and it was killing him, literally and metaphorically. Someone with that kind of ailment was definitely not fit to lead but apparently no one else really saw him much to call him out on it.

When the bottle was finished he put it back in the bottom drawer of the desk and set his sights back on Dom. He licked his lips and cracked his neck in a way that looked like he was getting ready for a fight so Dom tried even harder to break loose of his binds.

"I'm only gonna ask you this once" said Jay, "and I want to hear the right answer."

"Your version of the right answer and mine might not match up" said Dom.

"What else did you tell them about us?"

"I already told you everything, there's nothing else."

Jay cocked back and landed a punch on Dom's jaw that almost knocked him over in the chair. The shooting pain throbbed from his bottom gums all the way to his temples, giving him an instant headache. He stretched his neck and reset his jaw to prepare for another hit; the feeling that this wasn't going to end anytime soon was the most unpleasant thing he'd felt since his brother's death.

"Now, how would she know about the stone oven if you didn't tell her? We just built that around the time you came in."

"You're telling me you don't think they have people casing this place at all times? That with all of the infinite power and bodies that Calloway has at his disposal he doesn't have at least one crew dedicated to watching us every waking moment?"

"You talk about that prick like he's a fucking God or something" Jay spat, disgusted at the heroic image of Calloway and his army.

"You're forgetting that I've been there. I was in the warehouse district, inside the buildings. I've seen what they have and how they operate. I hold him in high regard because he deserves it. If you don't respect a worthy opponent it'll bite you in the ass."

"Well I'M the worthy opponent around here" Jay roared, hiccuping slightly at the excessive force. His voice echoed through the clearing and Dom wondered how long it would take for someone to come check on them. "He may have more resources than I do, but we have _heart_." He pounded his fist against his chest so hard that the sound alone predicted a nice bruise. "You can have all the resources in the world but if you don't appreciate what you have then you'll lose it."

The guard that had left with the cigarette made his way back into the tent with an alarming look on his face. He looked at Dom, who had already started swelling with a large pinkish mark on his face, then smelled the air with a sideways glance at Jay.

"Get the fuck out!" Jay yelled, pointing to the tent flap. The guard put his hands up and backed out quickly. No quicker than the guard left did Gerry file in in his place.

"Jesus Christ Jay what's going on in here?" asked Gerry. He saw Dom tied to the chair and his face went pale. "What are you doing to this kid?"

"This _kid_" said Jay, "is a traitor. He fed information to Calloway's goons that almost got us killed."

Gerry looked worried. "Is this true?"

"I've told him three times now" said Dom. "I _was_ working with Calloway but I lied to them and said I would be a double agent to get out. I didn't like it over there and wanted to go somewhere else, but they don't let you just leave."

"So what did you do?" asked Gerry.

"I gave them information about a supply raid but I told them it was going to happen a day later than it was really going to, so that way I'd be right about the attack but wrong about the time so nobody would get hurt and I could just say that it was a tactic you guys were using, saying wrong times out loud."

Gerry considered what he said and frowned at Jay, who was now lolling a bit against the desk like he was ready to pass out. Dom took advantage of Jay's sleepiness and used a little more force to work against the ropes and finally got his hands free. He worked the rope out from between the bars of the chair back so he would be ready to spring when the time came. Gerry shook his head at Jay and and turned back to Dom.

"Go get some sleep, Dom. I'll work this out."

"He's not going ANYWHERE!" Jay yelled, snapping back to attention. He took a couple steps towards Dom like he was going to delve back into his physical information gathering approach but as soon as he moved Dom shot up from the chair and leveled him back into the desk. Jay landed on his back and skidded across the top of the desk all the way to the other side, falling off the edge onto the ground. He hit with a thud as all of the oxygen in his lungs was pushed out and Dom bolted for the tent flap. Gerry jumped out of the way as he burst out into the clearing, looking for Manny. He spotted the guard talking to the guy he had first seen when he arrived at the camp and made a bee line for them.

"Manny I need the keys to that truck" said Dom.

"Sure bud, we heading back out? You get everything cleared up?"

"Yeah it's all clear, I need the keys. Quick."

As soon as Manny dropped the keys in his hand Dom slapped his shoulder hard and sprinted as fast as he could for the trucks. He looked behind himself when he was approaching the closest Humvee and saw Jay finally stumbling out of the tent with Gerry at his side as he hopped in. He turned the truck over and it started at once, and with one last look at the camp he peeled out through the pipeline road towards the warehouse district.


	9. Chapter 9

Tori was woken up by yelling and lay quietly with Diana curled up next to her. The man's voice echoed to the tent city but she couldn't make out what he said, so she decided to let it go and try to fall back asleep. A few minutes later the sound of the roaring engine being revved way too high piqued her curiosity and the following screams gave her enough reason to get up and check it out. The truck was already gone but she saw Jay stumbling towards the guard that Dom was friendly with and realized the noise was coming from him.

"Did you let him get away?" Jay screamed.

"I...what?" asked Manny. "Who?"

"Dom! You gave him the keys didn't you?" Tori heard Dom's name and she immediately started to cross the clearing, barefoot and in her pajamas.

"Yeah but he said it was all set." Manny looked confused and scared and Jay continued seethe.

"God damnit" said Jay, clasping his hands together on top of his head.

"What's going on?" said Manny. "Where is he going?"

"He's going back to Calloway and his goons" said Jay. Tori stopped dead in her tracks.

"You're Dom's friend, right?" asked Manny, pointing to Tori's chest.

"I guess" said Tori, not sure what they knew and what story she should use. "We just met a couple days ago but we're getting along well."

"Do you think he would do something like this? Spy on us and go back and tell Calloway everything?"

Tori's heart pumped in her chest and she grew more nervous by the second. "I mean I don't really know him that well so I guess it's possible but-"

"No buts" said Jay. "He's gone now so it doesn't matter anyway. I'll tell you what, though, if I see that prick I'll shoot him myself."

Jay stormed off leaving Tori and Manny speechless in his wake. Manny shook his head and looked really disappointed, as if Dom was an older brother figure to him or something. Tori wanted to do something to make him feel better but she wasn't sure what, since telling him wasn't really a smart thing to do and she didn't know how they interacted. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away without saying anything else, making her feel terrible enough that she figured letting him in on the secret wouldn't be the worst thing she could do.

"Manny, come back for a sec."

He turned around and walked back a few paces. "Yeah?"

"Can you keep a secret?

"Sure, is something wrong?"

"No. Well, sort of." She hesitated for a minute, looking around to make sure no one was within earshot. He looked where she was looking and in the interest of more privacy she grabbed his shoulder and led him towards the trees. "Me and the girls I came in with, we've been together for a while."

"What does that mean?" asked Manny.

"I've known Dom for a long time. He lived pretty close to me in Chicago and his brother and I worked together."

Manny's face lit up like he was confident there was a saving grace in the situation. "So he's cool, then?"

"Way cool. We got busted trying to clear out a convenience store and when we got the offer from Calloway, he told us to split and that he would stay behind to try and feed us information from their side. Trouble was, once he got in there they wanted the same thing so they sent him here to report back to them."

"Wow." Manny looked like he had seen some stunt man do an awesome move in an action movie. "That's so cool. It really sucks what happened here though, since now he'll be screwed if he's out in the city and they run into our supply runners."

"He'll be OK" said Tori. "He does well for himself and he'll have more protection with Calloway since he's got all the resources."

"True. Thanks for telling me, I was bummed and hoping it was something like that. I'm guessing he probably tried to explain it to Jay but Jay's kind of weird about some things."

"I guess so."

"Once he gets an idea in his head it sticks, and I guess he thought he couldn't trust Dom since he had said something, even though it wasn't true."

"Well keep your head on your shoulders and keep this secret to yourself, we'll see him again eventually. Bet on it."

It was still dark so Tori headed back to the tent to try and get another couple hours of sleep. She thought about Dom driving out there all by himself on his way back to the true hornet's nest. She wasn't lying when she told Manny that Dom could handle himself, but she couldn't help being protective of him, especially after Matthew's death. None of them wanted to lose each other so it was natural to worry when someone got separated from the group.

When Tori was younger she went to the fair with her family and some friends from school. She was probably twelve years old and her sister Trina was fourteen, and even at that age she had already started her queen bee training. They had started early in the day and hoped to check out all of the booths and ride all of the rides by the time the teenage crowd came in at dusk, so they wouldn't have to wait in line for something unless they really wanted to. After a while they'd checked everything out and were just walking around the fairgrounds eating junkfood when the crop of high school kids started flooding in. Trina had her eye set on a football player with a letterman jacket so she walked off to go try and flirt with him. A few minutes later her mom noticed she wasn't with them anymore and asked the rest of them where she was, but no one knew. It sparked quite a bit of discontent for her parents, running around the grounds frantically trying to find their daughter. Tori and her friends sat on the sidelines and watched, somewhat amused at the time, but now as an adult with a friend that was off doing who knew what to try to save their lives and a family that was missing, she really understood what her parents were going through.

Diana was still sleeping soundly when she reached the tent and climbed in. Her watch read one in the morning so they had about four more hours of darkness. Those four hours were precious to the people in the camp since they had to get up and do manual labor of different sorts, but with her mind running about Dom and her family she couldn't get back to sleep. She found it funny how when she was a kid she could go to sleep any time of the day or night and get good rest, mostly because she knew that when she woke up her only priority was being a kid, but as a grown up with responsibilities it was like her body was fighting against her. It was also funny, though not in an amusing way, that that lack of sleep lead to more difficulty working, which meant she was even more exhausted at the end of the next day, and even then she still couldn't sleep. It was one of those pickles she couldn't escape for whatever reason.

One hour passed by, then two. Diana rolled over a few times and would murmur short sentences every once in a while, things like 'that would be fine' or 'it was bigger than that.' Tori wondered what she was dreaming about and the fun part was trying to guess based on what she was saying. Once she had said 'I can do it' and Tori imagined her in an argument with someone that was trying to baby her. She was very headstrong and liked to take charge of situations but the situations she was best at handling were based in the old world, things like planning parties and organizing meetings. Here in the post Conflict reality her planning skills came in handy for figuring out where they needed to go and how to ration their supplies, but when it came to dealing with people like General Calloway face to face Dom excelled. She didn't mind sharing the top spot with someone but Tori could see where the spark of competition would be, and it was one of the things that she was attracted to.

They never really discussed love or relationships on the road. The rest of the group was aware that Tori and Diana had a thing and they were OK with it, but the actual topic of discussion never came up. Matthew and Marie had their thing before he passed and it wasn't brought up either. It seemed like everyone was sort of afraid to mention the good things in case the universe heard them and tried to do something to take it away. They'd already lost so much, their personal relationships with each other were really the only truly tangible things they had left. Tori knew in her heart of hearts that if she lost Diana it would probably break her down to the point that she might not have the energy to carry on, but at the same time Marie had said the same thing and she was doing better than anyone could have hoped for. It was nice that she had taken to the gardening thing with Gill so much, it helped to get her mind off things and give her a purpose, something that helped anyone in current times. During the day most people delved into their jobs as much as possible to forget that they really didn't have anything to come home to anymore.

She checked her watch again, four fifteen. The earliest risers started getting around at about five thirty, the time the purple-pink dusting from sunrise started to peak over the trees. Marla was usually the first one up, followed by Gill and Gerry. They got the camp started while the supply runners, if they were actually at camp, would get up and hit the road almost immediately. Tori and the others would get up around the time the breakfast table was being set up and by the time they finished eating everyone else was getting around as well. By the time seven o'clock hit the whole camp was up and buzzing, and that was something that actually made the place feel like home. Most of them would be getting up at that time anyway to go to work at their normal jobs, so keeping a routine was a way to stay connected to their old lives and who they were before. There was no doubt that living a completely different life in the wake of the Conflict changed a person, but it was holding on to memories of what and who they had before that either helped them transition into their new lives or broke them completely.

When five o'clock rolled around Tori leaned over and kissed Diana softly on the cheek then changed and headed outside. The air was still pretty crisp in the morning dew but she knew it to be a mask; the increasingly warm pre-summer air would be coming in just a few hours. The sun was up enough to cast light on the clearing so she started grabbing the tables by the food tent to get a jumpstart for Marla. She saw the stone oven and thought of fresh bread, and that made her think of Dom. Wherever he was, hopefully he was safe, and hopefully he would be ready for whatever was coming his way.

The headlights of the truck pinned light onto the road as trees whipped past the windows. Dom drove about eighty miles an hour away from the pipeline road towards the warehouse district, hoping that Jay or anyone else wasn't following him. It was a tough decision in the beginning, wondering which story to go with and how to play his position, but once he saw Jay head down the booze spiral he knew that no matter what he said or did he was going to be a prisoner in that camp and he had to get out. He felt terrible leaving Tori and the others behind without saying anything but he didn't have a choice; he felt just as bad using Manny's friendliness against him to get the keys to the truck. Hopefully Jay wouldn't be too hard on the kid and he wouldn't have to endure any kind of punishment.

He wasn't exactly sure where the warehouse district was from where he was on the highway so he figured he would just drive until he saw an exit or maybe even lights from off the road. The feeling of abandonment and displacement weighed heavy on him as he kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him. One thing he had always had a problem with was uncertainty, whether it was being unsure of what was to come or what he was going to wear when he woke up in the morning. Now he was faced with glaring uncertainties that made the ones from his old life seem trivial. Instead of wondering what he was going to have for breakfast he was wondering if he would be able to find anything to eat for the entire day, with the added worry of if he would get lucky and find some spare of if he would be hungry enough to steal from someone else. That part was covered, for now; Calloway did have a sweet setup and took care of his soldiers pretty well. The worries now were if the group would be OK and what the circumstances would be when he saw them again.

For some reason that was probably easily explainable by some Psychology text book whenever he was alone he couldn't stop himself from thinking back to old memories as a comfort. He would remember getting up in the morning and having breakfast with his family, his whole family. His dad would be watching SportsCenter on the small flatscreen mounted between the counter and the cupboards in the kitchen while his mom cooked whatever they wanted. It didn't even matter if they all wanted something different, she would find a way to make everyone happy since she always said starting off happy made for a good day. He could see the smile on her face just as plain as if he'd seen it the day before and it choked him up a little. He looked around the room in his memory and saw Matthew eating Cap'n Crunch while he played with matchbox cars, even though their mom didn't like him playing with them on the wooden table because they scratched it up. She would tell him all the time to roll them on the placemat but he never did because it didn't work as well that way, but when she saw the smile on his face and how happy he was she didn't have the heart to make him stop. So after everyone finished and headed to work and school she would get out the bottle of Old English and wipe down the scratches to fill them in good as new. Seeing all of their faces made his chest feel tight with the crushing weight of grief that he never got to properly assess. Now was still not the time, though, as he needed to be sharp heading into the lion's den, so he rolled down the windows to get some fresh air and took a deep breath, pushing with all his might the memories to the back of his mind.

After a twenty minute drive he saw the exit with the west bound road that looked familiar from his original trip out so he slowed down and took the exit, hoping to be able to spot more familiar landmarks to make his way back to the warehouse district. Once the exit curved onto the main road large buildings sat in far right distance through the windshield that he recognized to be next door to where he had bunked. Another five minutes and he was pulling toward the gates the district, with two armed guards in front of him. He pulled forward slowly and stopped at the gates, waiting for one of the soldiers to come up and greet him. The one on his left nodded to the other and headed for the driver's side window, weapon at the ready.

"Who goes there?"

"It's Dom, I'm here to see General Calloway."

The soldier shined a flashlight in his face and gave a nod of recognition. "Alright pull through."

The other guard opened the gates and waved him through. He pulled the truck up next to the row of others and got out with his sights on the far left building he knew to be Calloway's. It was late so there was no telling if he was actually awake or not, but the matter was urgent enough to try. Dom waved at the soldiers outside the door as he strolled in their direction and they eyed him carefully.

"I'm just coming back from Humboldt's camp, I need to see Calloway as soon as possible."

"He's sleeping" said the soldier on the right.

"I'm sure he is" said Dom, "but I guarantee he'll want to see me now."

The solider looked annoyed and huffed out a breath. "Wait here."

The night sky was a lot thicker in this area than it was in the woods. The trees in the camp obscured the sky a little but the lack of ambient light allowed the stars to shine brilliantly overhead. Here in the warehouse district where Calloway had a grip on the power supply the lights around the perimeter polluted the darkness and gave a haze such as clouds did. Dom was preoccupied looking up at the sky and he didn't even notice immediately when the soldier returned.

"The General wants to see you."

"I thought he might" said Dom.

He stepped through the door into the General's building, the only building in the district they were using that he hadn't been in before. The inside was redecorated to be homey and lived in, down to the carpet in the hallway. I guess being the boss in town had its advantages. The soldier led him down two hallways and through a large sitting room that had a TV setup, although it wasn't on, and a really nice looking bar. General Calloway was standing behind the bar pouring himself a drink and he looked up when they arrived, then pulled a second glass out and set it on the counter. He nodded his dismissal to the soldier and poured two glasses of whiskey, one he held in his right hand and the other he slid to Dom with his left.

"Here's to staying alive in the face of adversity" said Calloway. He tipped his glass back and Dom did the same, exhaling to ease the burn of the amber liquid.

"Just barely" said Dom. "My exit from the camp wasn't very, uh, elegant."

Calloway looked concerned. "What happened?"

"Well I'm sure Giana filled you in about her outing me to the camp as a spy."

"She mentioned that she had to blow your cover in a difficult situation."

"Yeah and-"

"She also told me" Calloway interrupted, "that you fed Colin false intel. Is that true?"

Dom felt his heartbeat start to rise but he tried to keep it under control. "No, I told Jay that I told them the wrong time because I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but in reality the information that I heard in the first place was wrong." He was thinking as hard as he could about timelines and keeping his lies straight, which was a lot harder to do in the heat of the moment than one would have thought.

"So you were just passing on what you heard then?" asked Calloway.

"Yes sir."

"OK, tell me what happened after that."

"I told them that I came to you guys first and that I was here for a while, and when I realized how you did things I wanted to get out but you wouldn't let me just leave" he started, "so I spun a story about how I told you guys I would be a double agent when in reality I just planned on getting out and never coming back."

"Smart" said Calloway. "So what was your reasoning for giving us intel?"

"I said that I could have just blown you guys off but I decided it would be better to act like I was actually helping you, that way if we ran into each other out in the city I would have a leg up on the situation to potentially help the camp."

"Well I'm impressed, Giana wasn't wrong about you."

Dom relaxed a little bit and slowed his breathing. "We got back to the camp and Jay asked me how he was supposed to believe me since I had given you guys information, even thought it was wrong, and I told him that the ruse was over and I just wanted to stay there, but he said he couldn't trust me and tied me to a chair in his office."

Calloway noted the increasingly purple bruise on his jaw and unscrewed the bottle in front of him for another drink. "Interrogation?"

"A little" said Dom. "I only got hit once, but he made it count." The drink slid across the table and he caught it in his right hand, raising and draining it immediately. "He's got a bit of a drinking problem and sort of flies off the handle when he gets boozing."

"Good to know" said Calloway. "So you're tied up, Jay is in an alcohol-infused rage, yet you're here."

"The whole time we were talking he was busy drinking and moving around, so I struggled against the ropes until I got myself free." He held up his arms and Calloway clearly saw the dried blood and raw skin from rope burn on his wrists. "When he came at me the second time I knocked him over his desk and took off, got the keys to one of your Humvees that I drove back here-"

"Thanks by the way" said Calloway.

"Sure, then I got in and drove like hell."

"OK then. You may be blown in that area but we can definitely still use you. I'll have you head up a crew of supply runners, doing the same thing that Colin does."

"Anything I can do to help sir."

Calloway smiled genuinely and slapped a hand on the bar top. "Well right now you can help by getting some shut-eye. Goodnight soldier."

"Night sir."

He was still reeling from the whole scenario at the camp and the discussion with Calloway when he entered the building he had before and found his old bunk. It looked like they were going to have to go with the old plan and have him try to sneak Tori some information that they could use to do something without him. He was fine with that, as long as they were all doing something to help steer everyone in the right direction. The vision they had back in Wanagi of everyone coming together again to reform the United States was one that he was now sure wouldn't happen, but they did still have a chance of making something livable that everyone could be proud of. Their biggest obstacle was people like Calloway and Jay, people that were ruthless or half-cocked being in positions of power. Not many people wanted to try taking on that responsibility, though, so finding someone to fill in and be in charge of everything was going to be a big enough task on its own. The road ahead was long and it would definitely be the hardest work any of them had ever done, but in the end it would be worth it.

The next morning came quickly with only a few hours of sleep. He hopped up at the second sounding of the alarm siren and got dressed next to the person in the bottom bunk across from him. No one was particularly chatty in the morning, focusing on putting each of their legs into their pants correctly without falling over instead of waxing intellectual about the dreams they'd had during the night. There wasn't a whole lot of people in his area since he was in the building being filled with the newest recruits but he liked it that way, less chances of bubbly morning people wanting to chat. After getting dressed he headed straight out into the communal area to try to find someone he recognized and get orders. Most people were still in the process of getting around so he grabbed an apple and stood to the side while he ate, watching the people around him scurry to wherever they needed to be. There wasn't a whole lot of security around the food table here, no one standing behind watching you grab things as if you were going to try to steal. He had an idea why that was; he knew for a fact he didn't want to find out what happened if Calloway found out you stole from him.

After about half an hour no one he recognized had come around so he decided to make his way to Calloway's building again to take the initiative. The soldiers that stood outside the door during the night weren't there anymore so he let himself in, hanging the quick corners that led to the open recreation area. Giana sat on the couch in front of the TV while Calloway stood up next to it with a whiteboard on an easel. Colin sat at the other end of the couch and another soldier Dom didn't know stood behind them. Calloway waved him in mid-sentence and Colin and Giana both smiled at him.

"Good, you're here" said Calloway.

"I was waiting outside but no one came so I thought I'd come check."

"We're working on supply routes to see where we need to send each group" said Giana. "This obviously is a map of the area on the screen and the whiteboard is the list of groups we have."

He checked out the board and noticed the groups different codenames were written on separate lines with their names written next to them. The first group, Alpha, was composed of Giana and himself. Bravo was headed by someone he didn't know and Charlie was headed by Colin, followed by Delta that was headed by Calloway. Dom had no knowledge of that last group or who was even possibly in it, he just figured that that was above his pay grade and didn't ask any questions.

Calloway studied a list on paper in his hands while Giana clicked through the laptop that was being broadcast to the screen. She went through pictures that maybe she or some other scouts had taken while out in the city, and while most of them didn't seem very interesting, he knew that no one in this group did anything without a reason, so whatever they were looking at was important. He saw some large buildings that looked like offices and even some parking garages that still had a lot of cars in them. What they could possibly want with a parking garage he had no clue, but whatever it was it probably wasn't good. She kept clicking through images until she got to the pipeline road and then docked it to the left side of the screen, clicking through once more and docking a picture of the river to the right. Dom caught a quick glance at each others in the room and then back at the screen, wondering what they had in store for Jay and his camp.

"Alright" said Calloway, "Dom, what can you tell me about their work details? How do they distribute people and what is getting done?"

"Well it's pretty dynamic" said Dom, "they switch up jobs every few days or week, depending on what it is, so people don't get bored of the same thing, although some people have permanent jobs."

"And which ones are those?"

"An older man named Gill works the garden and a woman named Marla does the food distribution."

"Good." Calloway wrote the names and information down on his paper. "The fishing crew? Any hunting crews?"

"A guy named Chet takes a few volunteers out to the river either early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the heat. There's not really a hunting crew, but some of the supply runners that are decent with a bow and arrow go out to get small game sometimes."

Giana watched Dom as he spoke, her face clear and calm. She blinked slowly and her eyes seemed curious. "I hear you're quite the fisherman."

He blushed but tried to hide it. "I managed to fill my bucket, so sure, I guess."

She smiled at him and turned back to the screen. "We got a line on some of their runners the other day." The screen flickered a few times as more pictures were passed through until Faye and her friend showed up in a big truck with Cora in the passenger seat. "This is one of the groups that does runs into the city. The girl in the passenger seat isn't a regular since we've only seen her once but the other two are out almost every day."

Dom was starting to feel anxious, seeing his friends on the screen and hearing how much they actually knew about their inner workings.

"Where do they usually go?" asked Calloway.

"They've been combing the west side from 43rd to 52nd."

"Not going to find much over there."

"I think they're working in a grid pattern" said Giana. "There's two more teams," she brought up pictures of the others, "that are moving parallel to them with a few blocks in between."

"Keep watching" said Calloway, "if that's the case we'll be able to plot out an ambush point."

The word ambush set Dom on edge even more. He knew from seeing a lot of action movies that any time an ambush was set up something went wrong and a lot of people ended up dying. If Cora or Faye ended up getting killed out there, would Tori and the others blame him for not telling them what was going to happen if he couldn't get to them in time? The minute details of his position were not having a hard time keeping him up at night and it was making him a little worse for wear.

"Take Dom to rally point four." Calloway circled something in his notes and then closed the folder and dropped it on his desk. "If the runners show up keep your distance and try to work out a pattern. I want a report by dinnertime."

"Yes sir" said Giana. She looked over at Dom. "Let's go, cowboy."


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning Tori, and everyone else for that matter, was woken alarmingly by an air horn being sounded from the bonfire. People started emerging from their tents pajama clad and sleepy-eyed, wondering why someone would be making so much noise so early. Tori and Diana were some of the first to come out and see Jay in the clearing, dark circles under his eyes and unsteady on his feet. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and when they got close enough to him they could smell the booze on his breath. It was a very strong smell, like it was seeping out through his pores and sticking to his clothes. He looked like a homeless person would during peace time, with a scruffy beard and glassy eyes. The sight was sort of scary and the older people of the camp shook their heads in distaste.

"Bring it in, bring it in" said Jay, waving his arms toward himself.

The rest of the camp crowded around until most of the people were present, including Faye and the rest of the supply teams. Marie yawned and almost fell backwards, forcing Cora to place a hand on her back to keep her steady. Tori smiled, remembering that Marie was a terrible morning person. Even when she would open the coffee shop for the first few hours she would be making lattes with her eyes closed.

"As some of you might have found out" said Jay, "we had a traitor in our midst." Several people started looking around at each other with eyebrows raised. "Fear not, for I have eradicated the mole."

Diana sighed and Tori rolled her eyes. Everyone around them started whispering, wondering who of them wasn't present to try and figure out who it was. Of course they didn't know the whole story, and for all they knew they had no reason not to trust Jay, so they hung on his word, waiting for him to continue.

"But, that doesn't mean that we don't still have a problem." He started pacing back and forth in front of the group, stumbling to the side a little. He caught himself and chuckled with his eyes on the ground, his smile quickly fading to a hard line with his lips pressed together. "I don't know exactly what all he told the other team. That obviously poses a problem."

"What do you plan to do about it?" asked Faye's friend, of which his name was still unknown.

"We're going on the offensive, for real this time."

He said the last part so quietly and calmly that it actually had Tori worried. Diana seemed to feel the same as her face reflected the same surprise and Marie was just standing there with her eyes closed. Cora was holding her up with a lazy smile but she seemed to sober up at the look from the other girls. She turned her attention back to Jay, who seemed to be surveying the group.

"I need some volunteers for a mission." He pointed to Faye and then to Manny and his guard friend. "Any of you guys up for it?"

"I am" said Faye. "My group will go."

"Sure" said Manny, with a sideways glance at Tori. "When do we leave?"

"We need a few more people first" said Jay. "Anyone else?"

"We'll go" said a voice from behind them. A guy from one of the other supply groups indicated him and a friend would be in.

"Perfect" said Jay, "meet in the council tent in five."

The girls grouped together when everyone dispersed back to their tents. Faye caught eyes with Diana and pulled her aside. They seemed kind of awkward together, which was to be expected after not having been in contact for a long time and after what had happened. They had suffered through their own version of the Conflict before any of the big stuff started happening to everyone else. Both of them had lost parents, friends, had been targets for murder. Both of them had fantastic gifts that no one else really knew about. They had a camaraderie that was different to other groups, and even though they didn't really know each other anymore, they still both knew that they would do anything to help each other if they could.

"Hey you" said Diana.

"Keeping everything together in the Mod Squad?" asked Faye.

"Sure. How's the supply running going?"

"Not the best honestly. We're running out of places to hit without driving hundreds of miles and the gas in this area is starting to run low."

"Had to happen sometime" said Diana. "I kind of assumed that we would have to move or something eventually since there's stuff we'll need that we'll have to travel to get."

"Yeah but then it makes it hard to farm if we have to uproot, and it's dangerous to move such a big group of people in the open."

"Well anyway I think we're gonna hit a fever pitch soon." The girls looked around at the campers waddling sleepily back to their tents. "Either we're going to work together with Calloway or one of our camps will be wiped out."

Faye looked somber and nodded her head. "Yeah, I just hope to be on the right side when that happens." She gave Diana a quick hug and then turned to head for the council tent without another word.

Diana returned to the other girls and stood with her arms wrapped around herself. She might not be very close with Faye anymore but she was still worried about her friend, going out on some dangerous mission doing who knows what against Calloway and his men. No one except the people going on the mission would know what they were doing so they would all have to just continue on with their day in worry, hoping that the team would come back in one piece.

Jay circled everyone around him inside the office and the smell of booze that rolled off his tongue was almost nauseating. Faye took a step back and Manny stifled a laugh, and the other two supply runners smirked with their eyes roaming everywhere but Jay's face. Eventually he cleared his throat and the rest of them started to pay closer attention.

"We're going to take the pipeline road out in two vehicles to the highway when it starts to get dark. We'll all be in one car with an extra driver and the other will be a decoy. When we hit the highway, we're all gonna jump out of the back quickly and hit the treeline, that way if anyone is watching from a distance they'll see the trucks going towards the city and keep watch on them instead of us."

Faye and Manny exchanged a look and then continued listening.

"We'll hike the best we can through the woods to Calloway's district and watch for a while. If we get an opening to do some damage, huzzah, let's do it. If not, we'll just take what we learn and bring it back to form a better plan."

"OK" said Faye, "but there's a problem."

"And what's that?" asked Jay.

"You're forgetting that that place is a fortress and he has at least thirty soldiers on the perimeter at all times."

"What's your point?" Jay looked at her like he was expecting a smart ass answer. "If you're nervous about going see yourself out and I'll find someone else."

"I'm not nervous about going and if you continue to talk to me that way I'll smash that fucking bottle over your head." She gestured to the empty liquor bottle on his desk and Jay looked over at it, then back at her.

"Fine. We leave when it starts getting dark. Any questions?"

Everyone chimed in at the same time with a simple no.

"Regular jobs til then?" asked Manny.

"Yes," said Jay, "but don't overdo it."

Dom climbed into the truck with Giana at the wheel and settled in for the drive. He kept stealing glances at her every few minutes and he noticed that at least three out of five times she was looking back at him, and the eye contact made him slightly nervous in more ways than one. She was the enemy, he couldn't actually be falling for her, could he? She worked with Calloway, did the same things that he did. He must have chosen her as his right hand for a reason, and with as brutal and unforgiving as he was she would have to be similar to carry out his requests. Then again, she had such soft eyes and such a kind smile that he simply couldn't believe that she was a bad person. It was really easy to click with her and it kind of worried him about what might happen over time. He didn't want to end up falling for her for obvious reasons, but if he did, what would happen then?

Giana started the truck and they took off with a few courtesy waves from some of the soldiers in the area. There was a sense of brotherhood in Calloway's faction that was hard to ignore, and he wondered if he was beginning to like it. He knew he was comfortable the first visit to the area, and being back with familiar faces and comforts was a good feeling. Of course he missed Tori and the other girls, but something about the rigid perfection and carefree camaraderie made him feel at home with Calloway. It was a double edged sword, one that he would have to be careful not to fall on.

Trees whipped past the windows in a blur of deep green as they sped towards the city. He wasn't exactly sure where rally point four was, but he did know that Jay's supply teams would be in the area. Hopefully it really would be just a recon mission and he wouldn't end up having to fire at anyone from the camp, especially if Tori or anyone else was involved. They knew when he decided to do what he was doing that there would be rough times where making a decision wasn't easy in terms of keeping his cover, but he was dead certain on one thing; if it came to hurting anyone from the group or blowing his cover, his cover would be in smithereens.

Eventually the city skyline came into view and the both of them sat up a little straighter. The city was mutual territory so anyone could be anywhere, meaning they always had to be on high alert. Giana's rifle sat between them on the seat and Dom's lay across his midsection pointing out the window. As the buildings grew closer he checked his rifle and made sure everything was ready to go and then checked hers the same way. She glanced at him and smiled and he couldn't help but smile back. After that moment he couldn't tell if the butterflies in his stomach were because of her or because of the job, but he didn't really care.

The truck slowed down and entered the city at a normal speed, staying on the outskirts close to the highway for a better chance of escape if need be. There was a grayish fog that hovered over the area because of the fires, and a light ash rained down that reminded Dom of Silent Hill. It was really eerie how everything seemed to have a gray tint to it even in the early morning sun, but he supposed it was good since the darkened sky would make it harder for them to be spotted by anyone else roaming the city streets. That said, it would also be harder for them to keep track of the people they were supposed to be watching, meaning they would have to get closer than normal which had him on edge. Giana seemed to notice his jumpiness and she reached a hand over to rest on his knee. She squeezed lightly with her eyes forward on the road and he covered her hand with his, thankful for a relaxing connection.

The truck pulled into a car wash that sat near a large intersection surrounded on all sides by gigantic buildings. Giana pulled all the way into the car wash area and parked there so the truck wouldn't be seen and proceeded to exit the vehicle. Dom did the same and they met up at the back entrance of the wash with their weapons in hand. He surveyed the area quickly to determine they were alone and when he turned to say something another mouth was on his before he could get the words out. He stumbled back a little bit but Giana caught him around the waist with one arm and steadied them with the other against the wall. He wrapped his arms around her and they kissed for a few seconds before breaking apart slowly. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him and she smiled so wide it seemed her face might stay that way.

"Well that was..."

"Yeah, I uh, I couldn't help myself."

"That's OK with me" said Dom. "Plenty OK."

The two of them left that spot all smiles to find their way to the top of one of the buildings around the corner. She picked a hotel that had a nice big roof and pointed to it, indicating they would take the stairs and head up to see what they could find moving about the streets. It was a large building and it took them few minutes to get to the top, even in their tip-top shape, but it was worth it as the view from the roof was incredible. They could see the whole downtown area of the city in all of its former glory. He imagined that it would be a lot better looking if they sky wasn't so gray and everything wasn't covered in ash, but they had to take what they could get. Giana pulled a map out of one of her cargo pockets that was folded up inside a plastic bag. She took it out and unfolded the area they were in and pointed to a couple circles in pencil.

"We're here" said Giana, pointing to the first building. "We've scouted a four square block radius from this spot and the other circles are points of interest. Here we have a pharmacy," she pointed to the next circle to the right, "and over here there's a few restaurants."

"You guys have done your homework" said Dom.

"Yeah well, I figure since we're not sitting at home playing Modern Warfare anymore I'd rather be prepared than, you know, actually dead."

"No I get it, we don't get respawns in real life."

They both smiled with their eyes sweeping the streets. It was harder to track movement than it normally would be since the ash played tricks on their eyes, but they were both alert enough to concentrate hard and make the crucial distinction.

"We might be here for a while" said Giana, "so you might want to get comfortable."

Dom wasn't sure if it was the lack of family he was left with when Matthew died or being away from his friends, but he was really starting to feel comfortable with a female presence around him. Back before the Conflict he was easily shied away from big parties or other gatherings, not because he was socially awkward, but because he knew he would run into the inevitable situation where he would be face to face with a pretty girl and wouldn't know what to say. He could hang out with the guys all day and talk sports or technology no problem, but when it came to yucking it up with the ladies he had more difficulty. Matthew used to say it was because their parents had such a perfect marriage that he seemed to subconsciously think that he had to be perfect to click with someone, and while a part of him knew that to be nonsense, the other, more vocal part, drove him crazy thinking maybe it could actually be true. That said, he would instantly start to nitpick at everything about himself when he came in contact with a girl he was attracted to, wondering if his hair looked okay or if his shirt was stained. He ended up looking shy and sort of quirky to girls he'd met through work, and a lot of the time that wasn't actually a bad thing. There were a few dates he had gone on with a girl that brought her laptop to him to be fixed, and since she seemed to like his quietness they ended up seeing each other quite a bit. She was the studious type, like him, with dark skin and creamy brown eyes. It turned out she was only in town for the summer, though, visiting some cousins, and that when school came back around she was heading to her hometown in Mexico to do research for her thesis. He was sad to see her go, but thinking back he realized that the fleeting summer love they had was a nice teenage memory. The way he felt about Giana, on the other hand, was a lot more complicated.

The way the ash fell reminded him of snow, and the thought of the coming winter scared him a little. It would be a relief to the summer for sure, since he knew it would be getting unbearably hot really soon, but the harsh cold nights of the dead of winter didn't sound too inviting in a tent. Luckily it was still cold when they left so everyone still had a good amount of warm clothing to wear, even though laundry was going to be a big chore with all of the water being frozen. Most of the things they took for granted in peace time, like running water, electricity and indoor heat, had already become luxuries they didn't have access to, but they were getting used to it quick. Calloway's group had procured some washers and dryers from a nearby laundromat, easily done since no one really had any use for them anymore, and set them up in the rec building in the warehouse district. Other groups didn't have it so easy but tried and tested methods from days they only knew about from History class still worked a charm. Everyone took their turns learning new things like siphoning gas with a cut off garden hose or making torches with homemade napalm and old t-shirts. A person was only as good as their skillset so everyone beefed up their survivalist talents in hopes of having something to eat and fresh water, meaning it was increasingly harder to compete for the ever-dwindling resources.

Finite resources were the reason they were on the hotel rooftop that afternoon, and after a couple hours of staring off into the gray skies of downtown Denver their surveillance kicked into gear. Giana sat up straight and locked onto a target, simultaneously grabbing her binoculars from next to the ledge they were sitting on. Dom followed her eyes to see where she was looking and spotted the vehicle pulling down a side street about half a mile from them. Shortly after a second truck followed in behind them and both trucks pulled over next to a convenience store.

"Well that's different" said Giana.

"What is?" asked Dom.

"Usually the trucks split up to cover more ground. We never understood why they would stray so far from each other before since it would have been child's play to round them all up, but it seems like you spooked them."

"That may be a good thing, though. If they're scared they're going to tighten everything up, be on high alert twenty four seven. They aren't used to that so they'll end up getting tired pretty quick."

Giana smiled. "Good call. Let me radio this in and then we'll head down and see if we can get closer."

It took her about five minutes to get in contact with Calloway directly and tell him about the new movements of Jay's group. He didn't hear the response since he was busy keeping watch over the edge to see if the trucks moved, which they didn't. Two people stayed next to the trucks while the other two went inside, but he couldn't tell who was who. When Giana came back he gave her the thumbs up that they were good to move and they set out to stairwell.

Back on the street Giana checked the map, the folded area they were in still on top, and navigated their way through the side streets while they walked. He watched her check around them for landmarks they could use in case they got turned around, and he realized that she really was very good at what she did. Him and the girls were just winging it as they went along, but it seemed like Giana was really made for it. She exerted a sort of elegant power in the way she moved, deliberately and stealthy even though neither one of them knew exactly where they were going or what they were about to get into. He felt comfortable with her and that was yet another thing that would etch a mark in the attraction column, whether he liked it or not.

They moved quickly from street to street, staying low and watching behind them constantly. On the last street between them and the others they reached the final corner, stopping to get a peek around and find out what the situation was. Faye and another girl Dom didn't know stood by the vehicles while two more were inside that they couldn't see. Laying eyes on Faye made his heart pump a hundred miles an hour. He really hoped they wouldn't have to engage them in a firefight, since if he hurt Diana's friend he would never be able to forgive himself. Giana looked on for a few more seconds and then moved back, hands to her sides.

"I know you're nervous about engaging them" said Giana.

"No, it's not that it's just-"

"It's OK, I'm not going to fault you for not wanting to take out people you made friends with." Her eyes were soft and the way they shimmered made him want to kiss her again. "We're not here to fight, and hopefully we won't have to, but if it's them or us..."

"I know" said Dom.

She reached over and squeezed his arm before turning around and getting back to the situation at hand. It seemed awfully quiet, almost enough to make him uncomfortable. There were no birds due to the lack of people and the ash coming down thicker every hour so the large empty streets seemed lonely. He wondered for the space of a breath what it would be like to be the last person on Earth, and the overwhelming unoccupied space gave him a sudden sense of Agoraphobia that he tried desperately to rid himself of. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a few deep breaths and the feeling was gone.

Around the corner Faye and the other girl walked towards the door as the other two came out, one being Faye's guy friend and the other someone else he didn't know. They carried out armfuls of supplies, which couldn't be easily seen, and loaded the stuff into the back of each truck, being sure to separate the loads evenly in case one of the trucks was lost. Apparently they had thought putting all of their eggs in one basket was a bad move, and the fact that he and Giana were watching them meant they thought so for good reason. In the middle of getting everything loaded a beep sounded, two quick, sharp pulses, low enough that they could barely hear it. He looked at Giana questioningly and she looked back the same way, cluing each other in that they had heard the same thing. Faye pulled out a radio and held it up to talk but a loud voice came through first, echoing off the surrounding buildings. They couldn't make out what he said but as soon as the voice stopped everyone jumped into the trucks and reversed, turning around to go back towards the corner he and Giana were sitting at. Both of them got up and ducked inside the business on the corner and waited for the trucks to pass, then ran out toward the hotel.

"What do you think happened?" asked Dom in mid stride.

"I don't know but it sounded bad, we need to try and follow them the best we can."

The talking stopped as each of them saved their breath for running. Once they reached their own vehicle they were both too winded to talk so Dom scoured the map for possible exits routes they could use to catch up faster while Giana drove. The other vehicles weren't in sight by the time they reached the highway so they decided to head back towards the warehouse district since Jay's camp was on the way. There were still abandoned cars on the highway so driving too fast was almost guaranteed to end badly, especially if someone tried to set a trap by moving cars into certain spots to try and coerce a driver to steer a certain direction, usually into spike strip or by another car with someone waiting behind it with a shotgun to blow out the tires. It seemed like Faye and the others weren't too worried about it, though, since they were nowhere to be seen and they had only been about three minutes ahead. Dom hoped above all else that something hadn't happened to anyone at the camp, especially Tori or one of the other girls, and in that moment he remembered how much he ached to see them again.

When the pipeline road came into view both of them sat up a little straighter and got ready for whatever could be coming. Giana crossed over to the other side of the road and started down the pipeline, keeping to the edge of the trees the best she could. She drove a mile and a half before turning into the trees to turn the truck around so it was pointing back out toward the road. Dom opened his door and hopped out with his eyes trained in the direction of the camp, ears open to try and hear anything he could being carried on the wind. He could smell the bonfire and see smoke over the trees but no voices traveled that far.

"We need to be fast and silent" said Giana, cocking her rifle to make sure it was ready to fire.

"Yes ma'am" said Dom, and Giana's smile was one that he wouldn't soon forget.

Thanks to a wet spring in the area the trees were full-bodied and covered them well. They moved up the treeline as quickly as they could without making too much noise, stopping every few hundred feet to check around them in all directions. Another mile or so down the road they stopped to check and Dom laid eyes on a guard making a circular pattern around a small boulder. He was at the ready with both hands on his weapon, eyes constantly sweeping the trees. There wouldn't be an easy way to get around him so they would just have to stay close to that spot and hope that someone would come to give him information on what was happening, if anything. The worst part of recon was always the waiting.

It didn't take long for something to happen. Not even five minutes after they had arrived within seeing distance of the guard two more came running after him, stopping and waving their arms back towards the camp. The guard turned and ran with them, leaving an open spot for Dom to move across the clearing and get closer. Giana stayed where they were so they would have eyes on both sides, communication to be done with hand signals. Before he had a chance to get comfortable in his new spot the sound of engines had him moving back to the treeline on the opposite side. Four trucks were making their way through the pipeline road with Faye and the others at the back. Manny was in the second truck with Cora and Marie was in the third with Faye's friend and someone else. Seeing people that he knew and cared about ramped up his adrenaline and made his need to know what was going on much more dire. After the trucks passed he ran across the clearing back to Giana with a plan in his head.

"You need to get out of here" said Dom. "They're going to see the truck within minutes and either have someone turn around or radio in that we're in the area."

"Why just me? Where are you going?" asked Giana.

"I still have friends in camp, remember? I'm gonna see if I can get close enough to flag one of them down and get some answers."

She nodded stiffly and checked her watch. "If you're not back by tomorrow morning I'm coming to get you."

"If I'm not back by tomorrow morning Jay has probably had me killed." He chuckled and swept the trees again for moving bodies.

"Not funny."

Before he could comment they heard an engine, at least one of the trucks coming back towards camp. As soon as the truck went by them they saw that only one person was in it, realizing at the same time the others were probably looking for them. Voices echoed through the trees and instantly they both turned back to back, guns out and eyes open. They were being hunted.

Dom launched forward with a quick grab of Giana's arm and led them deeper into the woods. Their only chance of getting away clean would be to disappear into the trees and wait the others out. They ducked and weaved around bushes and large branches until they were winded from running then caught their breath behind a large tree. Giana sat with her back against the trunk while he crouched facing her so he could see around and spot any oncoming pursuers. They could still hear voices, no doubt their running was loud enough that their footsteps could be traced to a general direction. None of the pursuers were in sight but he kept his eyes peeled, glancing side to side every few seconds. The rest was quick and they were back on their feet, moving southeast away from the camp. Squirrels and other small woodland creatures scurried out of the way into their hidey holes as the two of them thundered by, trying to put as much space between them and their potential captors as they could. Everything seemed to be OK until, to their horror, they released there were more people after them than they thought.

The plan they had silently agreed on was to head south and then curve back towards the highway if possible, but it seemed that Jay's men had thought ahead. The first group that had begun the chase were trying to lead them in that direction since, Dom guessed, one of the other trucks stopped a ways up the road and the occupants were attempting to hit them on their flank. He stopped dead in the middle of running and changed direction, a near fatal move that had him roll his ankle on some leaves. It didn't hurt at the moment due to the massive amount of pure adrenaline coursing through his veins, but as soon as they settled down he wouldn't be able to move very well. Giana looked worried at his half-run half-limp but she carried on full speed beside him. They ran for what seemed like hours before three more people showed up on their left about fifty yards ahead of them, and sure enough gunshots echoed through the trees. Bullets ricocheted past their heads but they plowed on, ducked low to avoid death or serious injury as long as possible.

After another half a mile Giana crouched behind a tree and took aim with her rifle, popping off shots in the direction of the encroaching threat. Dom was still a little worried since even though most of the people he saw he didn't know, he didn't get a good look at the people that were flanking them from left, so it could have been Faye or Marie or Cora. He couldn't think about that, though, especially when bullets were flying past him at an uncomfortable distance. Voices from behind them shouted from two different spots when Giana started firing, presumably an order to halt or proceed with caution. One thing they didn't know was whether they were wanted dead or alive, but having had that encounter with Jay he guessed it was the former. Two more shots fired from next to him and a scream ripped through the air, alerting them that Giana had hit someone. They couldn't tell who it was or where the person was hit, but it was enough to make Jay's men back off. As soon as they retreated a bit Giana tapped Dom on the knee and got up, heading deeper into the woods.

They continued on until they reached the river, though a few miles down from where the camp fished. It was mid-afternoon so the overhead sun was enough to bake a cake and the fresh river water looked inviting. The two of them made eye contact with each other and nodded simultaneously, then walked into the water with their rifles over their heads. This part of the river was more shallow since it went round a bend about fifty feet from them so it was possible to walk, but it wasn't easy. They were exhausted from the adrenaline and running through the woods so fighting the current was the last thing they wanted to do. The only thing that kept them from getting swept away was the refreshing coolness of the water on their skin.

On the other side of the river they continued through the woods until the water couldn't be heard anymore, giving them ample peace of mind that they'd lost their pursuers. Giana was a little shaken up, understandably, and Dom was a virtual basket case. His hands shook so hard he could barely keep them still, something that wasn't missed by Giana.

"Water was a little chilly" said Dom.

"Yeah it was. Nice to cool down the core temperature, though" said Giana.

"So what now? Wait it out here until it gets dark and try to make our way back to the highway?"

"I think so. If you want to try and trap some food I'll get-" She was cut off mid-sentence by a beep of her radio. "Sir?"

"We got intel that an attack is imminent. You need to get back here. Now."


	11. Chapter 11

Giana held the radio still for a few seconds before snapping back to reality. She jumped back up to her feet and pulled Dom up, pulling him in stride towards the trees.

"What are you doing?" asked Dom. "It's not safe to head back now."

"We have no choice" said Giana.

"There's always a choice. If we rush out we could be killed, and then what good are we to anyone?"

"Well we have to do something, I can't just sit here." She looked upset, like she couldn't get comfortable and she was agitated because of it. "You have your friends in Jay's group, I have mine in Calloway's."

Dom knew how she felt and immediately began thinking. "Alright. We need to get out of here, but we don't know where those men are."

"We can zigzag northwest and stay low. If we keep to the river for a while we should be safe."

They took off from their resting spot and headed west down the river. The sound of rushing water masked their footsteps for a while so if anyone was close the only way they would be located was visually, so they stayed low and tried to keep in the middle between the treeline and the water. Dom spotted one of the guys and crouched low, putting his hand out behind him to signal Giana to stop. They stayed still for a minute until he passed by, hoping the current would catch his eye and distract him from any other human-like shapes near him. He didn't acknowledge them so they deemed it safe to move and continued towards the highway.

The heat of the moment was scary but it was also exhilarating. Dom found himself really being in his element when the stakes were high and the plan was non-existent. It was definitely something that taxed his body and his mind, and something that would probably lead him to an early grave either by bullet or heart attack, but he couldn't help but revel in it sometimes. Back at home working on computers was a job, one that kept him fed and with spending money, but it didn't have the grandeur that being a soldier did. It was different than being a soldier during peace time, going over to other countries to steal oil or whatever they always did, it was way more personal when it was in their own backyard against their own neighbors and school teachers. The possibility of stealing the last bit of food from someone that could make or break them, and having it be your crush in fourth grade or the guy that ran the butcher shop around the corner from you, was way too real to allow anyone to relax.

The sun had crested and begun to fall, bringing in the hottest part of the day. Sweat dripped from both of their brows as they ran through the trees, dead set on getting out of the woods before dark. Neither one of them knew how many miles of forest was left before they hit the highway since they had dipped south in their running, but they figured it couldn't be too far. A quick break every twenty minutes had them going at a good pace and by the time their whole bodies were drenched, they had found their target. Dom ran out to the road and looked for a suitable car, laying eyes on a newer four door sedan about fifty yards up toward the warehouse district. He pointed it out and Giana ran to it with him, then he stood outside and kept watch while she hotwired it. Within a few minutes the car was running and they hopped in, hoping not too many of Jay's people were at the district yet so they would be able to get in and help defend.

The thought of defending Calloway's men against Jay's reminded him that he wasn't sure what was going to happen when it came down to it. He knew he wouldn't be able to shoot anyone from the camp, so what would happen when Giana or Colin or even Calloway saw him back out? Would they take him down themselves? He didn't get a whole lot of time to think about, as when they passed the pipeline road the truck that had come back for them originally was waiting and it pulled out behind them as soon as they were within sight. Giana stepped on the gas and they weaved in and out of the derelict cars, hoping to put a little space between them and Jay's men. It only worked for a minute, though, and when the truck caught up bullets spider cracked the back window to the point they couldn't see out of it and the driver's side mirror got taken clean off. Dom took his seat belt off and turned around, reaching out the window with his gun to fire a few warning shots back at the truck. He hit the windshield a couple times and the truck slowed down, putting a little distance between them, but the men in the back didn't stop shooting. When the back windshield of the car finally blew out glass shattered everywhere inside the car, cutting the side of Dom's face as he looked back to see where they were. As soon as the glass shattered Giana took a pistol out of her boot and started shooting out her window. She steered with her right hand and leaned out the window a bit, looking back every couple of seconds to see if she was hitting anything. Dom leaned his seat back a bit and shot over the head rest and through the back windshield, lacing the grill with bullets in hopes of killing the radiator and shutting the truck down. More pops from the driver's side told him Giana was still calculating shots until the front left tire of the truck blew out, sending rubber shrapnel in all directions. Sparks flew like the fourth of July until, because of the high rate of speed, the truck ended up spinning sideways and flipping over. It rolled countless times, ejecting the people in the back onto the street. One of them was flattened by the truck while the other landed head first and slid across the street into the grass, leaving a terrible red streak in his wake. Giana and Dom both turned back around and took deep breaths, hoping to relax, until, in the blink of an eye, the car was upside down and Giana's screams tore through the space between them.

Tori and Paula had finished the laundry so for the time being it was time to find a new job to do, so she decided on helping out in the garden with Marie and Gill. She walked over and Marie looked up, smiling at her best friend with dirt on her face.

"Look at you" said Tori.

"I know, right? This never would have happened a couple months ago."

"I'm glad to see you taking to something so well."

Gill came out of his tent and waved at Tori. "Hey there, lookin' to help out?"

"Yes sir" said Tori.

"OK then." He grabbed a garden rake and walked over, handing it to her and pointing. "You can start by roughing up some of that dirt over there."

"You got it."

She got to work tilling the soil with a watchful eye on the camp. Jay's little drunken plan had spooked some people and it was evident in the way they walked around with their eyes constantly raking the trees. As the camp head Jay was supposed to make the people in the camp feel safe, but all he had managed to do was scare them. So much for finding a new leader after Wanagi. Del, Jay, Calloway, it seemed like everyone was out for themselves and if other people got hurt it was just collateral damage.

Throughout the morning she saw people come and go from the council tent, some with guns, some without. Gerry was one of the first to enter the tent and he was in there for most of the morning, only exiting when it was time for lunch. He made a quick sandwich at the table with lettuce and mustard, then stood in the middle of the clearing with his eyes in the sky while he ate. He looked stressed out and tired, like he was working overtime to try and accomplish something that was impossible in the time frame allotted. She admired him, though, since he never seemed to quit, just take a break and get back in it. When he was finished eating he brushed his hands off and headed back for the tent, head hung low and arms swinging at his sides.

Not long after lunch everyone left the council tent and some of the guards ran toward the vehicles parked at the far end of the clearing. Jay sounded his air horn and Marie stood up, brushing herself off with a confused look.

"Again?"

"I guess so" said Tori. "Let's go."

At the bonfire people started gathering but apparently it wasn't quickly enough for Jay. He sounded the air horn twice more, blowing out the eardrums of everyone standing close to him. They looked at him with discontent but he seemed to be unaware of their stares. Diana hurried over from her spot next to the treeline and took her spot next to Tori, a little out of breath and with yeast on her shirt.

"Listen up, people" said Jay. "We're heading out now but we need more volunteers."

Some people instantly turned around and headed back to their jobs, not keen on going out to potentially kill or be killed. Some of the supply runners stepped up, but to Tori's surprised Marie and Cora both stepped up as well. She grabbed Marie's arm and pulled her back with a stern look.

"What are you doing?" asked Tori.

"For the past few days I've kind of been itching to get out of here. The whole domestication thing is fine and all but every time I think of Calloway and how he has everything he could ever want it just reminds me that Matthew died because of that." Marie's eyes looked sad and she wouldn't make eye contact. "I want to help take him down if I can."

"Well I guess that's your choice to make" said Tori. "But you do know that if something happens to you I'm going to be pissed."

"Yes mom, I'm fully aware of that."

"Cora," Diana called out, "you don't have to go either you know."

She looked back and smiled wistfully. "I know, but I figure if I do and we win I'll be able to say I did something to help. Plus I might even get a spot in the history books someday."

"What about Sarah?" asked Marie.

"I promised her I would stay back a bit and take cheap shots. Paula is looking after her."

"OK then," said Diana, "good luck you guys. Come back safe."

"We will" said Marie.

The trucks rolled out soon after and the camp seemed pretty bare. All that was left were some of the older folks and the younger kids that were too little to fight, and some of the guards to keep a watch on the perimeter. Tori kissed Diana twice and squeezed her hard before returning to the garden to help Gill. He smiled kindly at her when she approached and continued to press seeds into the soft soil with his thumb. She quickly realized why Marie liked working in the garden so much even though she wasn't really one for work in the first place. It was physical work, sure, but it was also really rewarding getting to really be in touch with your food and know what goes into it, where it comes from. She could work with another person but there was no pressing need to communicate, so she had the plus of having someone close to her with the plus of being able to settle inward and work out her own emotional stuff. It really was the best of both worlds.

It took about two hours to get the new section of the garden ready to be planted. They had eight whole rows dedicated to wheat for bread, and the rest of the rows were divided between corn, carrots, potatoes, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries and squash. Gill had brought a pretty impressive seed collection to the camp when he first arrived, knowledge passed on by Marie, and he had started getting the garden ready on day one. He seemed to really be in tune with the way the world was changing, probably owing to the fact that he was alive during the Cuban missile crisis. Thanks to him they would be sitting on a pretty good surplus come winter time if the weather worked in their favor, and, of course, Calloway's men didn't destroy the camp.

Diana had finished getting another batch of bread ready for the oven when she glanced up and saw Tori with her shirt lifted up to her ribcage and tied in the front. She could feel herself blushing and looked away for a second, but found her eyes wandering back of their own accord. There was a time when she was younger where the lines were a little blurred with Faye, but she chalked it up mostly to young experimentation and moved on. When she would notice something particular about another woman from time to time she would often wonder what it would be like to be with a girl instead of a guy, but she had heard from her friends that girl crushes were totally normal, so she didn't think anything of it. That was, until she met Tori. There was doubt in the beginning of whether or not she was really interested or if she was just having difficulty differentiating actual attraction and a girl crush, but their first date put those uncertainties to rest pretty quickly, and seeing her in the soft sunlight with her hair tied up in a lazy ponytail and her midriff showing reminded her of how beautiful life could be. The moment was cut off almost instantly as the sound of engines thundered into the camp, and it was apparent right off the bat that they weren't friendly engines.

The people closest to the pipeline road scattered and ran back towards the bonfire. The guards on the perimeter fell back into defensive positions in the trees and took out the tires of the trucks first thing before waving the rest of the camp residents to the back. The sound of gunshots echoed throughout the camp and Diana saw Tori's head snap up and look around, then lock eyes with her across the field. They ran towards each other and met up by the bonfire, quick to dive behind it for cover. The soldiers in the newly arrived trucks got out and started firing back at the guards; quick, decisive shots meant to pin them down in certain areas so they could flank to the open space on the right without fear of being hit. The soldiers moved gracefully, strafing side to side with laser precision whilst keeping their weapons trained perfectly straight. The movements worried Diana since she had seen the guards for the camp practicing in their makeshift shooting range, and while some of them were pretty good, none of them were up to par with that kind of training.

Gerry burst out of the council tent with Chet hot on his heels, both of them strapped with semi-automatic rifles. As soon as she saw their guns she remembered the weapons that were taken from them were stored in the storage tent with the excess food. She grabbed Tori's hand and peeked around the corner to check if the coast was clear, then darted out into the open as fast as she could. They both ran a flat out sprint to the tent on the treeline and tore their way inside, quickly grabbing pistols for their waistbands and the same semi-autos that Gerry and Chet had for their main weapon. Diana was about to storm back out but Tori grabbed her arm, stopping her before she could open the flap.

"You forgot extra ammo" said Tori.

Diana took the clip and pulled Tori closer to her, crushing their lips together for the space of a breath before heading back out into the firefight without another word.

Gerry had taken the left flank and Chet the right in their short absence. Marla and Paula were herding the remaining camp members to the back of the tent city where they would be out of sight and hopefully safe from any stray bullets while the guards and the remaining council members picked up arms in attempt to fight Calloway's men off. Tori waved Diana to the left and she herself ducked off to the right, trying to keep the load balanced evenly on each side for better suppressing fire. The soldiers were trying to advance towards the right side of the camp but there was about sixty yards of open field between them and the other treeline they had to worry about. Each time anyone tried to step out the right side flank on the camp side would fire into the side of the right-most truck, forcing the soldiers back into cover. A spec appeared against the sky, falling in a sort of arc and as soon as she spotted it Tori screamed "move!" and ran back towards the council tent. Seconds later a hand grenade exploded and took out the bonfire, sending red-hots and burning logs all over the place. By the time they had reset from the explosion three of Calloway's men had already made it to the other side of the clearing and were advancing through cover of the trees. They were trying to surround them on both sides and force them back to the river if need be, and it was probably going to work.

Tori fell back to the trees and climbed one that was set back a little behind the storage tent. Diana was still to the left over by the garden, kneeling down behind Gill's large tent. It wouldn't provide any stoppage for a bullet but it did obscure her from view, which was better than nothing. Everyone on both sides of the fight popped off rounds in small bursts, trying to move each other around like pawns on a Chess board, working at creating an opening to go for Checkmate. Tori was firing into the right side truck, hoping that maybe if they could disable the vehicles completely and hold the soldiers off for a bit, they would run out of ammo and have no way of escaping. Gerry seemed to have the same idea, as he fired multiple rounds into the windshield of each truck. He had just broken the last one of the left when another truck pulled up behind the others, putting a damper on Tori's plan. How many more of them would come? Were they bringing more resources? Ammo? More grenades? It was impossible to tell, but the objective remained; fight them off as long as possible.

Everything was dark and the feeling of liquid dripping across his nose made Dom's face itch. He lifted hand up to scratch, only to feel an intense burning that made his eyes water. He hollered out in pain and by the time his eyes opened, he realized that he was upside down. All of the windows in the car had shattered and they were both covered in glass and blood. Next to him Giana wasn't moving, but was slung sideways in her seat with her head resting on his left arm. She was still breathing, he could hear it, and that was a good sign, so he felt a little better with that knowledge. The smell of gas dampened his spirits almost immediately after, and suddenly his fight or flight instincts kicked in when he realized the car could potentially blow up and kill them both.

First course of action was to get his seat belt off, which wasn't as easy as it sounded. He was sort of tangled and couldn't feel his left hand, and when he finally got free enough to examine the cause, he felt a sharp pang in his stomach that almost made him throw up. The top half of the pinky on his left hand was missing and fresh blood was still pouring out at an alarming rate, so he worked even quicker to free himself from the vehicle. He pulled his switchblade out of his belt and cut the seat belt, falling on the crown of his head when he was free. The dull thud of his skull on the roof of the car made him dizzy, but he didn't have time to feel anything but excellent with the task at hand. Giana started to stir a little bit but her eyes weren't open, though the signs of life were helping Dom to get moving better. He crawled out of the car through the passenger side window and clawed his way to his feet, unstable and woozy.

A quick assessment of what happened showed that once they had taken out the truck that was tailing them they had hit a parked car on the road, sending them toppling over just as the truck had. The immense impact of the front end of the car had crumpled it like a beer can, and the sight of the wreckage made him wonder how either of them still had legs. The heartbeat in his finger reminded him of his pinky so he cut off a strip from the bottom of his t-shirt to wrap over the end of it and try to stop it from bleeding so much. It wasn't ideal and was a great way to get an infection, but there was no other choice with the materials they had and the situation at hand. Gasoline was leaking and forming a big puddle around the roof of the car, a ticking timebomb that could end their mission at any second. He bounded around the back of the car and knelt down by Giana's window, checking her over from the outside to see if there were any glaring reasons he should avoid moving her. It didn't look like her neck was broken or anything like that so he dove right in, cutting the seat belt the same way he had done his own. He reached in and grabbed her under the armpits, hoping to turn her and slide her out through the window the way he had gotten out, but the process was slow and difficult. Five minutes or so went by before he got her all the way out and a safe distance away from the vehicle. He panted and wiped sweat from his forehead, hoping that the unconscious beauty next to him would wake up soon.

About twenty minutes later she finally stirred enough to prop herself up on her elbows, and Dom reached down to help sit her up. She blinked slowly and her eyes seemed cloudy, unfocused, but overall she seemed to be okay. He watched her movements, checking for signs of a concussion or internal bleeding. She coughed a few times, really hoarsely and loud, spitting up a little bit of blood in between. He was worried that she had a collapsed or punctured lung but a quick check of her face showed that she had a cut on the inside of her bottom lip. Relieved that it wasn't something more serious he moved and crouched down in front of her, his hands enclosed over hers.

"You gonna make it, champ?" asked Dom.

Giana smiled and coughed again. "I think I'll manage. You?"

"Just peachy."

Giana laid back and closed her eyes again, and while they needed to get moving as soon as possible, he didn't want to push her too much and possibly have something bad happen to her, so he detached the radio from her belt and retreated a few steps to call in to Calloway.

"Delta this Alpha, copy."

"Where the hell are you?" Calloway.

"We were following the runners earlier and we got ambushed by the camp. When you radioed in earlier we had just been chased by two groups them, but we got away."

"Then where are you now? They're here god damnit, we need you two."

Dom closed his eyes and concentrated. "We hotwired a vehicle on the highway but a truck came after us. We took the truck out but ended up getting in an accident ourselves. We were both out cold for a little while after the car flipped, Giana is still out right now. We're not getting out of here anytime soon."

The radio was silent for a few minutes. "You guys are OK though, right?" asked Calloway.

"Giana's a little shaken up and I lost half a finger, but we're still mostly in one piece."

"OK then, do your best to get here when you can."

"Roger that," said Dom, "Alpha out."

Giana was asleep for another thirty minutes or so after that and in that time Dom had come up with a plan. He knew that since he had made some friends at the camp that if they showed up there they wouldn't shoot on sight, even though he was wearing Calloway's colors, since they would want to know what was going on. He wanted to make sure Giana was OK and taking her to a stable place that had a med tent was the best way to do that, so he waited for her to wake up a bit and then helped her stand up. She was still lightheaded and couldn't walk straight so he put her arm around his neck and helped to carry her a bit, and they started the trek down the side of the highway to the pipeline road.

When they got to the road he could hear gunshots in the distance, enough that he knew it wasn't target practice. He immediately thought of Tori and the girls so he picked up the pace a little, luckily Giana had come to a little more and was helping him out. By the time they'd reached the other side of the pipeline clearing she was able to walk on her own again and the gunshots were getting louder and louder. He reached over and handed her her rifle and they both checked their weapons again to make sure everything was in working order, and when they rounded the last corner of the road they saw Faction trucks blocking the exit. One of the soldiers saw them and waved them forward, turning to fire shots into the trees every few seconds. They ran up to the vehicles and crouched down low, waiting for an explanation.

"Where have you guys been?" asked the soldier.

"Around" said Dom. "What's going on?"

"Calloway told us that they were about to attack, so he sent out a group to get here early and wait in the shallows until they left, then come in here and storm the place. Take out the camp so they have nothing to come back to when they lose."

Dom had a sick feeling in his stomach. "OK, so what's going on, then?"

"They didn't send everyone, there's still some guards and some other people with guns that are putting up a fight."

"Do you know how many?" asked Giana.

"Not sure, at least ten we know of, probably more."

A shot broke the passenger side window of the vehicle they were ducked behind and the shattering glass ended the conversation. They all split up and started scanning the area to see where the camp residents had moved. Dom was searching for Tori or Diana or anyone else he would recognize, and the first person he saw was Gerry. Gill was next to him with an old school rifle and another quick scan had Chet, his fishing buddy, on the other side with Diana. He couldn't see Tori anywhere but he assumed she was still there, since she usually didn't like to go anywhere without Diana. Marie and Cora were nowhere to be found either, so he put them in the attack column at the warehouse district. He also hoped that they were OK.

The firing stopped for a minute so Giana rounded them back up behind the truck, looking out side to side to see if anyone was moving around.

"We should turn this truck a little and push it forward so we can move with it, it's the only cover we have."

"OK," said Dom, "get in and steer."

They managed to push the truck about fifty feet and angle it toward the trees, so they had a quick line to disappear to if the truck was destroyed. Dom watched muzzle flashes from both sides and suddenly got an idea.

"Alright, here's what I think. You guys pop some shots in their direction just to keep them busy for a while. I'll sneak up behind them and-"

Before he could finish his sentence a great ball of homemade napalm splatted on the truck and started to streak down the windows. Everyone backed up hurriedly and moved to the right, hoping to not be so close to the next shot. Dom remembered their concoction they used to make torches and nodded his head in appreciation at the ingenuity. While the focus was on the vehicles that were now burning he took his chance, darting into the woods as low and fast as he could. He was convinced no one saw him as no bullets started flying through the trees, so he circled way down and around before coming back around by the med tent. He was moving quickly and quietly, new skills taught to him by Giana, and that's when he heard the gunshots coming from up high, somewhere in front of him. He continued forward until he saw Tori up in the tree, her sights on the trucks blocking the exit to the pipeline road.

"Tori!"

She almost fell out of the tree and flung her rifle around, swiping it back and forth. "Who's there?"

"It's Dom, don't shoot."

"Dom?"

She jumped out of the tree and looked around for him, and when he was sure she wasn't pointing her gun at him anymore he emerged from behind a tree. She ran over to him and hugged him as tight as she could, and he hugged her back with as much appreciation as he could.

"How have you been?" asked Dom.

"Well I've been better" said Tori. "As you can see it's not really too relaxing around here right now."

"Tell me about it." He held up his hand with the missing half pinky.

"Holy, what happened? What happened to your face?"

"Later," said Dom, "we need to shut this thing down before anyone else gets hurt. They're trying to take out the camp."

"Word from your side?" asked Tori.

"The other side" Dom corrected, turning both of their bodies so they could see Diana and Gill on the left.

"Right, sorry. Let's go."

They cut through the woods behind the storage tent and emerged just to left side of the tent city. Paula and Marla had the rest of the citizens guarded in the back and Paula gave Dom a thumbs up to to indicate they were OK. Tori spotted Diana again and moved up, head down and rifle steady. As they approached the garden tent Dom saw one of the soldiers on the other side whip his head backwards and fall, and then he realized that he had been shot straight through the forehead. Off to their right Gerry cocked his rifle again and Dom noticed it was a sniper rifle. He hadn't seen it anywhere on the grounds before so assumed that the camp had a bigger arsenal than they let on.

Diana acknowledged their presence and scooted to the left a bit to give Dom room to move forward. He popped shots towards the trucks as lazily as he could while making it look like he was trying, and he hoped that Tori wouldn't notice his purposeful misses. Two of the soldiers slipped out from behind the far left truck and ran dead sprint to the other side of the clearing. Tori led the first one on and fired, taking out one of his legs. He fell to the ground and the other soldier skidded to a stop, turning to pick him up and help him into the trees. While their attention was focused on those two a third soldier, the same one that had blown up the bonfire, pulled out a second grenade. Dom noticed the round shape in his hand and followed the soldier's eyes, realizing quickly the grenade was meant for the medical tent.

"He's gonna blow up the med tent!" Dom shouted, firing towards the truck the soldier was taking cover behind.

Diana closed her eyes and held out her right hand in a 'stop' signal, muttered something under her breath quickly and before the soldier could release the grenade he gripped at his chest, falling down onto one knee while gasping for air.

"What just happened?" asked Tori. The soldier was now lying on the ground and another was hovering over him, trying to help him up.

Diana looked upset and wouldn't make eye contact. "He was gonna blow up the med tent. I couldn't let that happen."

Tori realized she had used magic to somehow stop the soldier from being able to throw the grenade. In that moment she was both fascinated and terrified, coming face to face with the real power that she had. Drying her pants off in the bathroom was one thing, disabling a person from fifty yards away was a whole different ball game. Dom looked confused and desperate for some kind of answer. Tori was about to give a brief explanation but bullets started ripping through the tent in front of them, with one hitting Dom's rifle and almost knocking it out of his hands.

"We need to move" said Dom.

"Let's go Diana" said Tori, reaching out a hand to help her up. Diana grabbed it and got up without saying anything and the three of them advanced toward the trees that contained the wounded soldier and his partner.

They searched the woods for a few minutes before finding the two soldiers on the ground between two large oak trees. All three of them had their rifles trained on the soldiers that they quickly noticed were barely more than small boys. The one that was shot couldn't have been more than thirteen and the other boy patching him up not much older than that, probably fifteen or sixteen. The latter looked up when they approached but he didn't even attempt to reach for his gun. Instead, he was wrapping the younger one's leg with a torn piece of cloth.

"You guys need to get out of here" said Dom.

"And go where?" asked the older boy. "If we go back Calloway will expect the job to be done and if he finds out we failed, or worse, bailed, he'll kill us both."

"What's your name?" asked Tori.

"Teddy. This is my little brother Austin."

Hearing the words little brother and seeing the way that Teddy looked at him sent a pain through Dom's gut that he hadn't felt in a while. "I lost my little brother to Calloway a few weeks ago."

Teddy looked upset and nodded his head solemnly. "That sucks man, sorry to hear it. What happened?"

"He opened fire on the town we were living in before because the Mayor wasn't paying his dues."

"God. I knew the guy was twisted but that's fucked up."

"Isn't that kind of what you're doing right now?" asked Tori. "You're firing on our town because Calloway wants us to either join him or die so he can have our supplies."

Teddy looked like he was either going to throw up or pass out. "I suppose, but we were just doing-"

"What you had to do? Yeah, not a good excuse" said Tori. "We have to survive too but you don't see us stealing from and killing people."

"Guys we need to keep moving" said Diana, her eyes trained on the other soldiers as they advanced towards the med tent.

"She's right" said Dom.

"What do we do with these two, then?" asked Tori. "Do you trust them to be left here? How do you know they won't take another shot at us the second they're up and moving again?"

Teddy got on one knee and raised his rifle, aiming through the trees at his fellow soldiers. Dom couldn't see Giana anywhere and the soldier that had recently been shot was lying on the ground behind the vehicle closest to them. Another soldier came back to bring that person something that looked like a bottle of water, and Teddy lined up his shot. He exhaled slowly and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet clean through the soldier's shoulder. She fell backwards and the others on her left scurried around the far side of the trucks, confused on where to go since they seemed to be taking fire on all sides.

"There, happy?" asked Teddy.

"Not really" said Tori. "All that does it show me that you're even more dangerous than I thought since you have no allegiances and will fire on anyone."

Diana reached out and grabbed Tori's hand. "How about we keep our guns on them and let them try their luck of getting across the clearing to the camp's vehicles. They can hotwire one of them and get out of here."

"Sounds good to me" said Teddy.

Before anyone could reply a loud crack sounded signaling that their position had been found and the soldiers were firing into the trees. Since they couldn't be seen directly the bullets flew erratically, making their situation even more dangerous than if they were out in the open. Everyone hit the ground and covered their heads, hoping that if the soldiers didn't hear any clear sounds of a hit that they would assume they had moved to another spot and would stop firing. After a few minutes that seemed to be the case and Dom waved Teddy and his brother off, watching them closely as they hobbled out of the trees, each with one of their arms up. The soldiers recognized them as their own so they didn't fire, instead they waved them in tried to provide covering fire to get them back safely. Tori watched as they crossed and Dom scanned the rest of the area, hoping to find a way out. As soon as the two guys were safely through to the other side Tori geared up to move out but two things happened; a scream belted out over the gunfire and a deafening explosion made everything go quiet. Someone had shot through the gas tank of one of the vehicles, causing the fuel to ignite and explode. Anyone within ten feet of the truck, which was at least four soldiers, were completely obliterated. Flaming shrapnel rained down in all directions and they had to dodge a couple pieces that fell into the woods. The fire from the truck raged with the gasoline base and open field breeze fanning it. The remaining soldiers from Calloway's faction disappeared into the woods toward the river and suddenly the action was over.


	12. Chapter 12

Dom spotted Giana by the med tent and turned back to the girls, trying to think of a plan. They were going to have to split up since Giana wouldn't take the enemy back to the warehouse district, but leaving them alone worried him. It was obvious they could handle themselves but he just liked it better when they had strength in numbers. The smell of smoke was thick around them and it was quickly evident that the fire from the car had caught the woods. They had had a relatively dry transition into summer and with the heat during the day, it looked like they were about to have a famous Colorado wildfire on their hands.

"We need to get out of here" said Dom, looking at the remaining vehicles on the other side of the fire. "I'll go to the council tent and get keys, you guys head to the furthest truck and be ready."

He ran into Giana by the council tent and she flagged him down. It looked like she was holding her arm and he was worried that maybe she had gotten hurt.

"Are you OK?" asked Dom.

"I got in a physical confrontation with one of these guards, blocked a punch. Nothing I can't handle."

"We need to leave before we get caught in this blaze. I'm gonna grab keys and we'll go."

Inside the council tent Gerry was searching through Jay's desk. He had his sniper rifle laying out on top of it and when Dom came in he nodded to him and went back to searching, but not before taking a slightly long look at his outfit.

"So you really are on the other team, then?" asked Gerry.

"No" said Dom, moving closer and lowering his voice, "I'm working both sides."

"I see." Gerry pulled out a box that had the truck keys in it and grabbed a pair. He looked at them for a second and then handed them to Dom. "Get out of here so you can continue on, we'll meet up in Oklahoma City in a week or so. I'm gonna relocate as many people as possible, if you can make it back and help that would be nice."

Dom nodded stiffly. "I'll do the best I can."

Outside Giana waited by the first truck and Dom held up a finger for her to wait a moment as he looked through the windows of each truck, trying to make it look like he was judging the best ride. When he got to the end he saw the girls crouched down on the side waiting for him.

"Gerry is gonna evacuate some people so go with him."

"Where is he taking them?"

"Oklahoma City."

Tori shook her head. "That's too far. Plus, we don't know where Marie and Cora are right now."

"Or Faye" said Diana.

"I'm sure they're fine" said Dom. "I'll look after them when I get back."

"I guess if you think it's best," said Tori, "we'll head out."

Dom bent down between the two girls and hugged them both at the same time, then planted a kiss on each of their cheeks. "I'll see you soon."

The sky was starting to dust orange overhead meaning they didn't have a lot of time to get back to the warehouse district and help before it got dark. Giana was waiting patiently still and when he got back to the truck he held up the keys and then pointed to the passenger seat, indicating he would drive. She smiled weakly and got in, buckling her seat belt after what had happened the last time. Her face still had some cuts and under her jaw on the left side was pretty bruised, but Dom couldn't help but think she was just as beautiful as ever. He could tell she was in pain but she smiled like nothing was wrong, eyes still illuminated even against the sun. After a minute of fumbling with keys to find the right one he got the truck started and took off, looking back at Tori and Diana in the rear view mirror before they crossed out onto the pipeline road.

Every night around the same time he got this feeling of nostalgia that he couldn't seem to shake. When he was about eleven they had a family game night, him and Matthew and their parents. After dinner they would all help with cleanup and then Matthew would get a deck of cards and some board games and set them up at the dinner table. Their dad was usually the host of sorts, being the dealer in card games, the banker in Monopoly, stuff like that. Outside of game night they didn't really spend a whole lot of time together between work and school and friends, so it was nice to get that one night a week where they could share stories of their lives and just enjoy the company and comfort of family. As they got older the game nights got further between. Matthew would be going to the movies with friends or their mom would be doing a Pottery class or something, until eventually they stopped altogether. No one really thought much of it at the time, but looking back under the circumstances he would give anything for one more round of Mao with all the people he had lost.

With the inner musings in his head making the drive a blur before he knew it they were within a mile or so of the warehouse district, easily noticeable by the sound of automatic gunfire. It was way louder than it had been at the camp, telling them there was a lot more people involved and a lot more guns. They exchanged a worried glance but kept their heads up, knowing they had to do what they were doing because giving up was simply not an option. The closer they got, the louder the shooting was until it was all they could hear, even with the windows up. The lights from the district lit up the area like a beacon since no one else had power and the light drew them in like flies. Dom parked about a hundred yards away from the gate so they could sneak around to the left side and find a way over or through the fence.

As they crept along the trees to the side of the district fence they noticed a lot of the soldiers were backed up in front of Calloway's building. Dom boosted Giana over the fence and then hopped over himself, and when they emerged out onto the scene with guns drawn they both stopped dead in their tracks. Only about a dozen people from the camp were still fighting and the other fifty or so were either dead or severely wounded. It looked like they had walked into a massacre and the ones that survived were caught so off guard they could barely fight back. Giana pointed to Calloway's building and pulled Dom closer to her.

"I'm gonna head in and see what's going on."

"OK" said Dom. "I'm gonna stay out here and help push them back."

"Be careful" said Giana, squeezing his hand then standing up to leave. He watched her go and then scanned the area for his friends.

He spotted Manny sitting up against a wall with his hands wrapped around his right thigh, the same leg that he'd been hit in before. People were still firing all over so it wasn't going to be easy to get from one side to the other, so he began backtracking to get as far away from the soldiers as possible. It was starting to get dark so uniforms didn't matter much since they couldn't be seen, so he was hoping to use the same cover of darkness to slip behind the camp fighters. It took a few minutes but his backtracking paid off and eventually he was slipping into the alley between buildings where Manny was. He approached him slowly as to not startle him but he quickly realized that Manny was almost gone. His leg was bleeding badly and there was already a large pool around him, and there was nothing around that could staunch the blood flow.

"Manny? It's Dom, can you hear me?"

He stirred for a second but didn't say anything.

"Manny, wake up buddy."

"Dad?" He blinked rapidly and studied Dom's face the best he could.

"No man it's me, Dom. From the camp?"

"Oh, hey Dom. I was wondering if I would see you here."

"How long ago did you get shot?"

"Hard to say. I think I passed out for a bit but I'm not sure."

"Well you're losing a lot of blood, we need to get you tied up or something to help slow it down."

Manny smiled and his head lolled to the side. "I had a feeling you would take care of me. You remind me of my big brother."

Dom felt a dull blow in his gut. "Where is he now?"

"He died a few years back. He hung himself in the basement of our old house."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, you know. The past is the past." Manny started to yawn a little and his blinking was getting slower to the point his eyes were almost constantly shut.

"Hey Manny, stay with me man" said Dom, tapping his face on each side. "You gotta stay awake."

"I'm just gonna take a nap for a little bit and then I'll be...OK..." After that he exhaled one last time and his head nodded forward til his chin rested against his chest, and he was gone.

Dom rubbed his face with both of his hands and his eyes stung. This kid was even younger than his brother, not even old enough to have graduated high school, and now he was dead, lying in an alleyway by himself with no family. It was a tragedy, but he took solace in the little comfort that he could be there for him in his last moments. Dom knew he liked him, and he liked Manny too. He reminded him of Matthew in a lot of ways. Vibrant and willing to try anything, eager to learn new things and keep his brain occupied. The world had lost another great person, and no one would ever know.

That was really the straw that broke the camel's back. Dom felt a rage burning inside, a ball of black heat that contained the names of everyone he had lost during the Conflict. The faces of the little kids that had encountered on the road and had to leave for one reason or another. The bodies of people on the bridge when they had first left Chicago and the bodies on the highway between the warehouse district and the camp. The man that was shot by the overturned gas truck. The exploded bodies of the soldiers at the camp from the truck blowing up. All of these things swirled deep in his stomach and he could practically feel the fire pumping through his veins. He didn't care what happened to himself. He didn't care what loyal soldiers he had to take out to do it. He was going to kill Calloway and put an end to this, and the time to do that was now.

He walked out of the alleyway without even looking both directions, turning to head towards Calloway's building. Marie was kneeling down by the side of a smaller building that held electrical equipment and she saw him pass by. He barely even acknowledged her presence, his mindset of killing Calloway completely overriding everything else. She got up and ran up behind him, pulling him sideways behind the building she was next to.

"Dom? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill Calloway. I should have done it before when I first met him. I've let this go on too long."

"Are you crazy?" asked Marie, her voice rising almost a little too much. "If you walk into his office and kill him you'll die immediately after."

"I don't care anymore. If my life is the last one to go to get his, I'm OK with that."

"Well I'm not" said Marie, reaching out to grab his arm and stop him from leaving. "And I know Tori and Diana, Cora, they wouldn't be OK with that either."

"I'm in a unique position here" said Dom. "I can walk right up into that building and take him out within a minute. No one would expect it."

"Then you would be full of more holes than a YA dystopian novel within seconds. Do you not care about how we feel?"

He stopped for a second and let the words sink in. He was doing this because of the losses he felt, so it wouldn't really be fair to add another loss to their belt. "I know it isn't fair, Marie, but I can't just sit back and not do anything."

An explosion rocked the ground they were standing on and debris quickly filled the air. Dom covered Marie's head and tried to position them under the lip of the roof of the building they were standing next to but it wasn't large enough, and his shoulder caught a piece of brick. It wasn't big enough to do any real damage but it still hurt, and he had to hold his arm like it was in a sling to get relief. There was a huge hole in the left side of the rec building, showing that the camp fighters must have gotten a hold of some of Calloway's grenades. People started pouring out of building and heading towards them, a lot of which fell to the ground under fire. Dom looked back and saw the remaining campers were still fighting, shooting carefully at the soldiers charging in their direction. He noticed one of the fighters was Jay, and he and Chet were regrouping who was left to advance up a little ways in the chaos of the explosion.

"Marie, you gotta let me go. This is getting crazy."

She looked at him with pleading eyes, those electric blues so reminiscent of the ocean. "I can't give you my blessing to go on a suicide mission, but I guess you have to do what you have to do."

"And what he has to do is stay still" said a female voice that they both recognized instantly. "Both of you stay still, hands on your head."

The woman had a pistol pointed at the back of Dom's head as she walked forward and stopped within a few paces of them. There wasn't a whole lot of room between the small building and the fence so they wouldn't be able to try to fight her off without one of them getting shot.

"Cora?" said Marie questioningly. "What the hell is going on?"

"I can't let you kill Calloway."

Marie looked as confused as ever. "Why not?"

A few things happened at once. A conversation between Diana and Dom flashed before his eyes. He remembered talking to her about Cora one day after work in Wanagi while they waited for everyone else to get back. After that a second conversation between him and Giana flashed, the one they had when they had initially gotten their mission details in Calloway's office, and finally everything snapped into place. "It was you"

"What?" asked Marie.

"Giana told me that they had someone else in the camp that was feeding them information, but she didn't know who. I don't know if she really didn't know or if they thought it would be better if we didn't know each other, but it was Cora."

"How is that even possible?" asked Marie. "She's been with us for how long now?"

"It started back in Wanagi" said Dom, who was quickly cut off by Cora.

"And it all had to do with Shawn."

"Right" said Dom. "Diana told me that you guys had a thing at one point, and I talked to a woman that said Shawn used to make trips out of the city for an entire day sometimes to go somewhere, which we guessed to be to meet Calloway."

"I followed him one day," said Cora, "cause he pissed me off. He had hit me because he was upset over something with his little gang and I told him I didn't want any part of it. He said I should support him in whatever he did, and that I wasn't being a good girlfriend. I told him to go to hell so he backhanded me." Cora held her free hand to her jaw. "I didn't say anything then but I had made the decision to get back at him, and I knew the best way to do that was with Calloway. No one else knew about him, not even the gang, but he told me things in confidence since we were together. One day when he left I followed him, made sure he didn't see me, and when he left the meeting I went in."

"So you introduced yourself to Calloway, told him that Shawn was selling weed and smuggling alcohol so he would be pissed and punish him."

"Basically, yes" said Cora.

"That explains why Shawn got killed so fast at the celebration" said Marie.

"I didn't know that Calloway was going to kill him, honestly," said Cora, "but it's no skin off my back. I think he deserved what he got."

"So since Calloway was so nice to you you decided to do something for him in return. Am I right?" asked Dom.

"I told him I would keep an eye on Wanagi, let him know if anything suspicious happened. We met once or twice and then I heard he was coming to town, but I didn't know what he was going to do. After that I didn't see him until we saw him together at the hotel." Cora kept her grip on the pistol strong with it still aimed at Dom. "He had one of the guards slip me a note while you guys weren't looking and we kept in contact."

Dom thought for a few minutes and then laughed a little bit, shaking his head. "So you're the reason we got stopped the night we were going to try to spot one of their convoys."

"Yeah, but that didn't go too bad did it?"

"Manny got shot and two of Calloway's soldiers died. I would say that's pretty bad. And now this," Dom stretched his arms out in front of him to signify the massive amount of bodies strewn across the ground, "how is this not bad?"

"Could be worse, they could all be dead. Anyway, I know you're a decent guy Dom but Calloway is on the path to getting us back to where we were before. I don't want to live like this forever and if some people need to go for that to happen, then so be it."

"You know what Cora? You're a real bitch." Marie had turned so she could look her directly in the eye when she said it, a move that kind of surprised Cora.

"Cheeky, especially with a gun in your face."

"Yeah well I've never been one to back down."

"Well hopefully one of these days it doesn't get you killed."

As soon as Cora finished her sentence a shot fired from their left, and she fell to the ground instantly. Marie and Dom both jumped to their feet and spun around to find their savior, and Giana showed up on the other side of the fence. Marie spotted her first and held up her gun but Dom wasn't far behind, quickly placing a hand on her arm to push it down.

"Giana, what's going on?" asked Dom.

"She was going to shoot you. Can't have that, can we?" She smiled and climbed the fence in a smooth motion.

"Where's Calloway?"

"Inside, where he always is. Consorting with the enemy now, are we?" asked Giana, pointing to Marie.

"She's a friend of mine, from before."

"Interesting. Can she fight?"

"Yes" said Marie.

"Well come on then the both of you."

"Where are we going?" asked Dom.

"Blondie is gonna go to the truck and bring it up a little closer and keep it ready while you and I enter the belly of the beast."

Marie took the keys from Dom and headed for the truck while he and Giana broke for Calloway's building. There was still gunfire all around them and the camp fighters were pushing for the door, so Giana thought that Calloway would be making a break for the back of the building in case he needed to get out quick. As they made their way to the back of the district a truck pulled in behind them, the lights shining bright on the pavement in the dark. Tori and Diana got out and kept low, and Dom couldn't help but smile that they went against what he asked and showed up to help. He knew that no matter what happened they would always be there, and that was a huge comfort in their current situation. The two of them grouped with Marie and headed to the truck while Giana and Dom circled the side of the building to get to the back door, but they were caught between soldiers and camp fighters that were firing at each other. They crouched down and leaned against each other's backs, weapons trained out as they assessed the situation. Faye's friend was leading a group of fighters that were firing at random towards the guards by the back door, seemingly to try and get them to leave their post so they could storm the door. The soldiers fired back with precision, hitting Faye's friend in the chest twice. He fell forward and landed face first on the ground, already dead before he finished moving. The camp fighters backed off a few paces and Giana pulled Dom toward the door, using the downtime to get inside safely.

Inside Calloway's office he was sitting behind his desk with a guard on each side of him. When they saw Giana and Dom walk in they made to leave them room but Calloway stopped them both by reaching out his arms, so they stepped back into their spots and stood silently. Dom nodded to each of them and they nodded back quickly, eyes set on the wall in front of them. Calloway looked tired, as if he had been pouring over intel all day and night to try and come up with the next plan of action. He smiled up at Dom like he was happy to see him, and the feeling kind of made him antsy. It was almost like Calloway saw him as a prodigal son, and he definitely didn't want to be anything of the sort. The room seemed a lot smaller than before with the potential for a firefight, and the claustrophobic feeling raised his heartrate and his body temperature, making him even more uncomfortable.

"So how about this madness?" asked Calloway. "Who would have thought the farmers would be brave enough to actually attack the nest?"

"I don't think you give them enough credit" said Giana. "Eventually if someone is kept down long enough they'll strike with everything they have in a last ditch effort."

"I suppose that's true" said Calloway, getting up from his chair to pace. "I didn't expect them to be so well armed. How come we didn't have any intel on their weapons? Dom?"

"I never got to see their munitions tent, sir" said Dom. "I worked mostly away from the camp."

Calloway walked to the liquor cart and poured five drinks, one for everyone in the room. The two guards accepted theirs silently with a nod and Giana and Dom accepted theirs with a quick thanks. Giana looked down at the liquid as it swirled around her glass, then she sniffed it and downed it in one.

"Ryan," said Giana, "do you remember the day we first met?"

"Of course I do. You had just shot a woman that was trying to rob you and it seemed like it didn't even phase you."

"If you let things bother you you become vulnerable" said Giana, her eyes glancing sideways at Dom.

"That's why I try to stay as separated as I can from most things" said Calloway. "Emotional decisions get people killed."

"Well so do unemotional decisions I've learned."

Calloway watched her closely and Dom shifted his weight from one leg to the other, starting to get antsy. "I'm not sure I follow."

"You know, I was with you in the beginning," said Giana, "but you've changed. It isn't about bringing back what we had anymore, it's all about power." The guards stood against the wall as straight as ever with their weapons cocked and ready to go. "It took me finally connecting with someone that has their head on straight to realize what was happening. After my mom died in the beginning of this thing I was lost and needed somewhere to go, and I fell into your cunning words like a desperate child. I can't do it anymore."

"So what, you fell in love and now you want to go live in the woods and scrape the bottom of the barrel for the rest of your life?" Calloway sounded angry and the tension in the room raised exponentially.

"Maybe, is that so bad?"

"I just don't understand why you would want to turn your back on what we've built here just to go make things harder on yourself. Haven't I given you everything you need?" Calloway pointed to the guards and they raised their rifles, pointing them at Dom and Giana's chests. They raised their own weapons and aimed back, their breathing shallow and senses heightened.

"I've gotten most of the things I need for myself, honestly" said Giana. "I may have stuck around here but the food I ate and the clothes I wore I got myself. I siphoned gas from dead cars. I raided abandoned markets. Where were you?"

"Coordinating the effort" said Calloway.

"You mean hiding in your office behind a wall of soldiers" said Dom. "You don't deserve anything you have."

"So this is it then?" asked Calloway. "You're gonna leave here with your new boyfriend and become an enemy of the Calloway faction? Throw away everything we've worked for?"

"I'm leaving, yes, but this isn't it. Trust me on that."

Calloway smiled wickedly and waved his arm down for the guards to lower their weapons. "You really have no idea what's going on do you?"

"You're trying to bait me, I know you as well as you know yourself."

Calloway laughed outright and ran a hand over his short hair. "You can't possibly think I really told you everything, do you?" He licked his lips and pulled open a drawer in his desk, took out a folder and dropped it on top. "You only have half the picture, sweetheart."

"That's good enough for me" said Giana. "If half the picture looks as bad as this I don't even want to know what the whole story brings to the table."

"Would it interest you to know that the President is still alive?"

Dom's eyebrows raked his hairline and Giana didn't say anything.

"Because he is. I talked to him recently actually." He pulled out the top piece of paper in the file. "He's holed up somewhere, of course, and he's planning on meeting up with me to discuss plans of getting America back on her feet."

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be real thrilled to see what you have here when that forest fire wipes everything out."

"Fact of the matter is, I have the President of the United States' ear. He's looking to me to find out what is going on in this country right now, and whatever I tell him is what he knows."

Dom couldn't help but worry at the level of control Calloway had with that said. Obviously, he could have been lying, but it was always the safer bet to assume he was telling the truth. The way Giana's body tightened up told him that she knew he wasn't messing around, and their need to get out of that room suddenly increased by a large margin.

"What do you hope to accomplish? If you help him rebuild you won't have absolute power. You'll probably get some kind of Medal of Honor and maybe be appointed as Defense Contractor, but you won't be running a Dictatorship like you are here."

"You're assuming I'm going to help him, and not the other way around."

"Giana we need to go" said Dom.

"Listen to your boyfriend," said Calloway, "click your heels together and pray you find yourself somewhere that I can't find you. Because I promise, when I bring this country back to its former glory, you won't want to be found by me. Being a traitor will carry some heavy punishment."

Calloway sat back in his chair and smiled silently. Giana stared through him with pure hatred and Dom backed up to the door and passed through it, pulling her along with him. They immediately heard footsteps pounding toward them as it shut, and they took off straight along the fence to get to where the truck was waiting for them. The night sky was a lot brighter than it usually was because of the forest fire roaring through the trees between the warehouse district and the camp. The air was already starting to get thick with smoke and they coughed as they ran, hoping that they wouldn't trip over any bodies on their way out. Dom noticed a few people from camp as they ran, their bodies twisted and contorted in different ways. He saw faces that he remembered just a week ago smiling and laughing at the camp, enjoying a piece of Marla's fresh bread. It wasn't fair that so many people had to die because of one man's greed, but it was something that had happened all through history and they knew this probably wouldn't be the last time. Humans were the way they were and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

On their way back to the truck another explosion took out part of the barracks that Dom had once been assigned to. Everyone around hit the deck and covered their heads so they wouldn't get knocked out by any shrapnel and as soon as Dom stood up he saw Colin and Charlie company moving with tactical precision around the corner. He fired off some shots in their direction and they all stopped, took a knee, and aimed towards him. Giana pulled him sideways behind another small electrical building and they each took a side, peeking out to see where Colin had moved. Jay and the others were weaving in and out of the alleys between buildings with ease under cover of the night, especially since the smoke was thickening the air to the point that visibility was almost a luxury. Figuring it would be a waste of energy and an unnecessary risk to try and hunt Colin down Dom tapped Giana on the side and nodded towards the truck, signaling it was time for them to go. She took off and he followed after her, shooting a few more rounds back towards Colin and his group just for good measure.

They reached the truck where Tori, Diana and Marie were waiting, surprisingly with another guest. Faye was lying in the back of the truck with a gunshot wound to her left side and Diana was sitting next to her helping to keep her comfortable. Tori smiled as they approached, even holding out her arms to hug Giana. Dom guessed that Marie had filled them in on what happened with Cora and Tori would definitely want to thank someone that saved one of her friends, that's just the way she was. With one last look at the district with the fire behind it and thick smoke-filled air they piled into the Humvee and took off toward Oklahoma City, hoping beyond hope that Gerry and the others were safely on their way there at that moment.

Faye had taken a bullet to the side as she helped the camp fighters shoot their way to the back of the warehouse district. Apparently the plan was to fend off as many soldiers as possible while they got a lay of the land and hopefully discovered their stockpile. Jay wanted to load a truck or two with food and weapons that they could take back and use while they went over the information they had gathered to plan a second attack. Little did he know that Cora had relayed everything to Calloway before they even left, so they didn't have a chance. His men were waiting for them as soon as they arrived and the first wave of fighters were basically mowed down like they weren't even equipped to fight back. Faye had stayed towards the sides of each line, having learned during her scavenging trips about using cover and changing locations frequently. Everything went fine for the first half hour or so until someone from her main group had gotten shot, and she went out against her better judgment to try and help. As she was bent down trying to keep the girl awake she took a bullet to the side just above the kidney, but Jay was quick to take the soldier out that had clipped her. He helped get the both of them to the back of the line where a couple of the med campers were tending to wounds and they remained there until Tori and the others passed by on the way to the truck.

Giana sat in the passenger seat and held hands with Dom as he drove. She had come a long way from when she first joined Calloway, and that was something that helped to keep her going. When she first found him and his faction they were still relatively small and she was broken from the loss of her mother, and Calloway's way with words drew her in almost immediately. He promised her that if she helped him round up an army and train them that they would have anything they could want and it would be like the Conflict never happened. Her life was in a sort of whirlwind at the time and she wanted nothing more than a little bit of stability, so his promise of getting back to normal was all she needed to jump into his plans and and immerse herself in the hunt, anything to get her mind off of what she had lost. Over time the constant use of force started to weigh on her conscience, especially when she wondered what her mother would have thought about the way she was going about things. She had come so close to losing herself in all of it until one day she shot a man in the leg because he refused to join them. The other soldiers in the group took a step back from her, and in that moment she realized that even her own soldiers were scared of her, which meant that she had crossed the line and something needed to be done. After that she started staying behind on the supply runs for a little while, telling Calloway that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to try to work out and sweat out the flu or whatever she had instead. Eventually she got a grip on herself and shortly after she met Dom, and everything seemed to fall in place from there. It was easy to consider herself lucky that Dom had come into her life when he did, since she wasn't sure where she would be without him.

Diana had taken the time to help nurse Faye back to health as a sort of break from everything that was happening. Her life had had so many crazy twists and turns with finding out she was magical, to losing her father, finding out her real father was evil, losing him as well and almost losing her new sister that she also didn't know she had. There had been such a rollercoaster of emotions that she was thankful to finally settle down in Chicago and have some downtime to herself, and the crisp, cool air of winter in the city was something she held onto in that moment in the back of the truck. The fateful day that she waltzed into the record store, completely unaware of who was inside or how it would change her life, was a day that she was really grateful for, seeing as if she hadn't met Tori or Matthew she would have had to deal with the Conflict and everything that happened all by herself. All things considered she still didn't even really know anyone in the group that well, since they had only been together for a couple of months, but the things she learned about them in those couple of months were usually the things that took normal friends years to learn about each other. The solidity of their resolve, the lengths they were willing to go to to save each other and keep their group together. They were all really lucky to have each other in a time where trust wasn't easily gained and being on your own was almost certain death, and she made sure she remembered that every time she looked at their faces. Her relationship with Tori was unchanged from the beginning, but she wanted to take some time in the coming weeks to actually spend some time with and grow with her. She felt bad that their entire relationship had been nothing but fighting and surviving, and they didn't have any time for each other. They had only been on one date, and she was hoping to change that as soon as possible with some luck and good fortune.

Marie sat in the back and looked out the window as the truck sailed along the highway. She had grown so much as a person since they left the city that she hardly even knew herself anymore. She learned that she loved to garden, something no one that knew her before would have ever guessed, and she learned that she had the capacity to take a human life if need be. Sometimes people that were presented with the situation where they needed to kill someone would go through with it but they didn't come out unscathed, usually being racked with guilt to the point they either got so depressed they would eventually enter a psych ward or they would outright commit suicide. Luckily for her, if anyone would see that as lucky, she didn't fall into either category. It wasn't easy, removing a human from the world, but if she had to to save her friends or herself, it was something she knew she could do. With so many people out for blood, there wouldn't be a shortage of situations where they would have to kill to protect themselves, but she just hoped it wouldn't last too long. How long could they really go on with such a cutthroat attitude before everyone was wiped out or banned together? Months? Years? How many people would be left in the end? There were so many questions she had that no one could answer, questions that everyone else thought of themselves but no one really wanted to discuss out loud. In a time with such uncertainty people that lived in groups usually tried to talk about happy memories or remind each other of what they did have instead of dwelling on the negatives. It helped to keep everyone going and sometimes it could even distract people from the fact that they were starving or had dehydration headaches. Marie tried to be that person in their group when she got the chance, the one to remind people during downtime about how they used to go to clubs or go to football games on Fridays when they were in high school. Then that would usually get a conversation started on the players of the game and the boys would get all riled up talking about their favorite teams. It wasn't always easy to be upbeat and constantly try to keep everyone else up, but it sure was better than the alternative.

Dom had gotten the confrontation that he wanted but the outcome was less than spectacular. There was nothing that could have been done, though, since if either one of them had pulled the trigger on Calloway they would have been dead themselves, but it still felt like a wasted opportunity. Who knew how long it would be before they had another shot at him, or if they would even be able to find him again? The forest fire was going to wipe out everything within probably a hundred miles or more, especially since there were no more national emergency crews to put the fire out. Would it keep spreading and destroy everything? He wasn't sure, but he did know that the warehouse district would be swallowed up within the next couple days. Calloway was probably frantic in his office, trying to figure out a way to move all of his precious supplies somewhere else. The west was pretty much done so he figured that Calloway would go east like they were. He also hoped that they wouldn't end up in the same spot, but it was likely since most people were flocking to cities for a better chance to find stores to scavenge from. Eventually they would have to try to put down roots again somewhere, but that somewhere they weren't sure of. They would regroup in Oklahoma City and talk to the other survivors, see what everyone else had to say about it and probably come to some sort of vote. It seemed weird to vote with a bunch of strangers on where they were going to live, but of course, everything seemed weird compared to the way life was before the Conflict. They had to get used to outhouses and cooking small game over fires to get nutrition, as well as boiling water for safe drinking and learning to ignore body odor. He was proud of how far everyone had come since the beginning, he just wished that Matthew could be there to see what they had accomplished.

Tori sat behind Dom and watched Diana through the window to the back of the truck. She found it very soothing to see Diana doing something good with her magic, since she seemed so upset and afraid of what she did to the guy with the grenade. It took her a while to snap out of it after that and Tori was worried about her for a while, but it seemed like she was coming back down to normal. They didn't really have a baseline for normal anymore, so it was just whatever they wanted to consider normal at the time. Faye was lying back against Diana with her head leaning against Diana's shoulder. She had her hands over the wound on her side and Diana had her hands over Faye's, and a sort of faint glow emanated from underneath them. All of the exhaustion in the truck weighed heavy on Tori's stomach and she closed her eyes with her head against the window. Even though everyone was really tired and sore and scared, she could feel an underlying layer of love and respect between all of them. Everyone in that truck had done something at some point to save someone else, or done something to make their life easier or more enjoyable somehow, and they were really a family. Dom had called them family at a time but in that moment, driving down the highway broken, beaten but still with hope in their hearts, she really felt the love and it helped dull the pain of losing her parents and sister. Her life from the day she had broken up with Jade was a constant work in progress of staying on the up and up, and when she found Diana she knew that all of her hard worked had paid off. She hadn't clicked with anyone that well in years, and just her luck, something had to happen to complicate things. Even though they were displaced and life was hard, she swore she wasn't going to let that get in the way of her happiness and that every day moving forward she would try to show Diana how much she cared about her in new and exciting ways. What was the point of fighting, of scraping by and doing the best they could, if they didn't enjoy each other's company?  
Calloway would be set up somewhere new within a week and his operations would resume. Jay would probably be displaced for a while if he made it out alive, and his alcoholism would most likely keep him from recovering the camp. Most of the people that were there had fled anyway, so finding people to start a new one would be difficult, if not impossible. There were more survivors out there somewhere, and eventually someone would rise up and get a real city started, one where democracy reigned once again and people were actually safe. Where provisions were distributed fairly and no one person had too much power. No one knew how long it would take for this to happen, or how many more people would have to die in the process, but they knew that the fighting would reach a fever pitch at some point and the tables would turn in someone's favor. Where they would lay their heads at night until then was up in the air. Tori reached over and took Marie's hand, squeezing it and concentrating on the warmth. The Conflict was definitely not over, but the planning for the next stage was about to begin.


End file.
